The Album Review Club - Week #147 - (page 1942) - Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan

Reminds me to circle back to the youtube one, as I have neglected it.

I have been splitting this to listen to in two sittings. Up to Off With Their Heads - Clear The Air almost as one playlist.

Then starting from Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers till the end as the next one.
 
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I'll do the first half now, and the second in a few days.

The Hu - a fun, interesting opener. A hint of Eurovision about it, but enough character and heavy enough to like as a rock/metal track in its own right. Odd lyrics, probably make more sense in the native tongue

T.Rex - A nice song with a nice sound and some nice progressions. Can't help feeling put in a nice mood.

Kevin Morby - Dylan reincarnated? Good arrangement and a lot there musically, struggle with the singing though. A lot for me to like there, just can't quite get to it.

Be good tanyas - one of the better country songs here (and there are a lot!). Gentle, pleasant, sensitive. At least Someone took the 'banjo category' seriously.

Washed Out - good bit of upbeat indie- pop to mix it up. Whoever pointed out the cosmic synth repeat, wish they hadn't, once you notice it, it follows you.

Tasmin Archer - a proper anthem, one that deserves reminded of, was quite happy to hear it again out of the blue.

Woods - repeating myself, loved it. Repeated it a few times, and exploring more. Such a professional and well put together production too, where every sound counts for something. Whoever put it forward, worth giving the Local Natives album Gorilla Manor a go. Already made the Portugal.The man comparisons.

Avishai Cohen - follows on nicely in tone, although not genre/style. Took a bit to get into this one, but I'm a convert. One of the more 'different' songs on here. Lovely piano, and at first found the bass jarring, but they do actually weave well together, once it clicks. Onto exploring a second of his albums now. Still occasionally gives me a bit of a toothache, some of the deeper tones.

Joe Walsh - Eight minutes that feels like eighteen. Apologies to whoever nominated this, but being honest, this one was the weakest of the bunch for me, and I just didn't get it. Is it supposed to be that slow? The structure of a pacey upbeat song, slowed right down, does not a ballad make. One interesting progression after the intro had me hoping it would go somewhere, but it never did. And then the odd quacking at the end. Not for me.

Aimee Mann - Aimee is another one that has never done anything for me, and this song was no different. Got flashbacks of enduring the Lucinda Williams album. I'm sure it is good and I get many like it, but it just isn't for me. Really wish I coul appreciate both more l.

Latin Quarter - A welcome change after those two songs, new to me, and interesting as a song.

Welshy Arms - one that surprised me. One of those that on paper I wouldn't like, but I actually quite enjoyed. Upbeat and strong, and a more 'modern' sound to break it up a bit.

The walkmen - really enjoyed this one, rocky, pacey, feels like it should be more mainstream.

Off with their heads - a bit too generic. Might as well be the totally generic Foo Fighters. In fact at first listen I thought it actually Was FF. The theme did make me think however a bit of a cry for help, should we be worried about whoever nominated it. In contrast to the last song, something on paper that I Should like, but it was a bit meh.
 
After about 2500 miles in the car with family Spires, my BM albums playlist was a partial success; in the last couple of days it got overtaken by the current new playlist which overall was definitely viewed more favourably.

in terms of the albums on this thread, there was lots of sticking to their knitting with stuff they were familiar with . So the likes of Revolver, TQID, and bits of Siren got played along with Songs of Faith and Devotion and Music Complete, Thin Lizzy, Prince and Marvin Gaye amongst others.

There were some familiar artists that they immediately wanted to divert onto other albums rather than the one in question, most notably Oasis, Prefab Sprout and Kate Bush. Similarly playing a track off Warren Zevon just resulted in demands for Money, Guns and Lawyers.

The most universally successful of material that was unfamiliar to them was Doolittle by some margin and then The Battle of Garden Gate. Cold Fact got some love too, especially in the light of Rodrigez’s passing. Bits of James King & The Lonewolves were enjoyed too. The response to Pixies did surprise me, not sure If Black Francis was aiming for the holidaying family market but that’s what he got in this case! Similarly, Fatima Mansions got a better reception than I thought it would.

Then there was the divisive stuff, which split along expected lines with two in (me and elder son) and two out (Mrs Spires and little un) which included King Crimson and Rory Gallagher. Also, though Mrs Spires will happily never hear Leonard Cohen again in her life, the eldest I think was wavering and could be turned. Going back to the subject of King Crimson, they and the Cars pick resulted in a bizarrely heated discussion about time signatures and polyrhythms (which strangely/mercifully? didn’t encompass Rush and Tom Sawyer) which then turned into an interrogation about why no one on the thread had nominated King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard yet! Similarly listening to the Pixies and a lesser extent the Breeders resulted in Sonic Youth auto playing at various points and the thread was berated for its lack of one of their albums; lack of Black Keys on the thread was also mentioned.

Some stuff was viewed as interesting but not summer driving music, things like Frightened Rabbit, Erland Copper and Tindersticks. Not sure I agreed with the ‘not summer’ analysis in all cases.

The only one of the lower scorers that they felt had been harshly dealt with was King Swamp.

However, and most disturbingly IMO, anything with even remotely country vibes was given relatively short thrift. Most shockingly they could not get into JJ Cale at all, nor Lucinda Williams despite multiple efforts. Same fate for Chris Whitely and Paul Brady I’m afraid. The only one that bucked the trend arguably was James King which has a bit of a twang at times. On the subject of which, for any Scots on the thread, we were in Liguria the first week of our hols and one lunch time I ended up finishing the bottom half of a bottle of grappa with the guy who ran the place we’d ate at, before he locked up for the afternoon. I was going to demure and suggested it was a bit too early in the day for me and possibly him too, to which his response roughly translated as ‘it’s fine, think of Liguria as Italy’s answer to Scotland’ (said in an entirely complementary not derogatory way). So, if any of you are looking for a warmer home from home in your dotage you might want to shortlist Liguria as an option!

The kids had some suggestions to move the thread away from its traditional spaces, but I think they might be a step too far for any of my nominations :-)
 
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threespires said:
After about 2500 miles in the car with family Spires, my BM albums playlist was a partial success; in the last couple of days it got overtaken by the current new playlist which overall was definitely viewed more favourably.

in terms of the albums on this thread, there was lots of sticking to their knitting with stuff they were familiar with . So the likes of Revolver, TQID, and bits of Siren got played along with Songs of Faith and Devotion and Music Complete, Thin Lizzy, Prince and Marvin Gaye amongst others.

There were some familiar artists that they immediately wanted to divert onto other albums rather than the one in question, most notably Oasis, Prefab Sprout and Kate Bush. Similarly playing a track off Warren Zevon just resulted in demands for Money, Guns and Lawyers.

The most universally successful of material that was unfamiliar to them was Doolittle by some margin and then The Battle of Garden Gate. Cold Fact got some love too, especially in the light of Rodrigez’s passing. Bits of James King & The Lonewolves were enjoyed too. The response to Pixies did surprise me, not sure If Black Francis was aiming for the holidaying family market but that’s what he got in this case! Similarly, Fatima Mansions got a better reception than I thought it would.

Then there was the divisive stuff, which split along expected lines with two in (me and elder son) and two out (Mrs Spires and little un) which included King Crimson and Rory Gallagher. Also, though Mrs Spires will happily never hear Leonard Cohen again in her life, the eldest I think was wavering and could be turned. Going back to the subject of King Crimson, they and the Cars pick resulted in a bizarrely heated discussion about time signatures and polyrhythms (which strangely/mercifully? didn’t encompass Rush and Tom Sawyer) which then turned into an interrogation about why no one on the thread had nominated King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard yet! Similarly listening to the Pixies and a lesser extent the Breeders resulted in Sonic Youth auto playing at various points and the thread was berated for its lack of one of their albums; lack of Black Keys on the thread was also mentioned.

Some stuff was viewed as interesting but not summer driving music, things like Frightened Rabbit, Erland Copper and Tindersticks. Not sure I agreed with the ‘not summer’ analysis in all cases.

The only one of the lower scorers that they felt had been harshly dealt with was King Swamp.

However, and most disturbingly IMO, anything with even remotely country vibes was given relatively short thrift. Most shockingly they could not get into JJ Cale at all, nor Lucinda Williams despite multiple efforts. Same fate for Chris Whitely and Paul Brady I’m afraid. The only one that bucked the trend arguably was James King which has a bit of a twang at times. On the subject of which, for any Scots on the thread, we were in Liguria the first week of our hols and one lunch time I ended up finishing the bottom half of a bottle of grappa with the guy who ran the place we’d ate at, before he locked up for the afternoon. I was going to demure and suggested it was a bit too early in the day for me and possibly him too, to which his response roughly translated as ‘it’s fine, think of Liguria as Italy’s answer to Scotland’ (said in an entirely complementary not derogatory way). So, if any of you are looking for a warmer home from home in your dotage you might want to shortlist Liguria as an option!

The kids had some suggestions to move the thread away from its traditional spaces, but I think they might be a step to far for any of my nominations :-)
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Interesting reading that. Our kids grew up listening to my music and my slightly biased view is they are more rounded for it. I have fond memories of the singing System of a Down at the top of their voices on a trip to France one year - swear words heard on holiday stayed on holiday :)
A long term favourite was the first Tenacious D album. Great rock tunes and stupid humour - perfect it seems for old gits like me and the teenage mind!
Glad Pixies and GVF both seemed favourites - seeing both them of them live over the coming months. The Black Keys are another long term top band for me. The newer stuff is a bit ‘poppy’ but I’ve gone with all of their changes over the years so I just roll with the changes. Maybe a BK a album would be a good shout - but I’ve got something ‘modern’ up my sleeve for my next nomination so they will have to wait for me
 
GornikDaze said:
Interesting reading that. Our kids grew up listening to my music and my slightly biased view is they are more rounded for it. I have fond memories of the singing System of a Down at the top of their voices on a trip to France one year - swear words heard on holiday stayed on holiday :)
A long term favourite was the first Tenacious D album. Great rock tunes and stupid humour - perfect it seems for old gits like me and the teenage mind!
Glad Pixies and GVF both seemed favourites - seeing both them of them live over the coming months. The Black Keys are another long term top band for me. The newer stuff is a bit ‘poppy’ but I’ve gone with all of their changes over the years so I just roll with the changes. Maybe a BK a album would be a good shout - but I’ve got something ‘modern’ up my sleeve for my next nomination so they will have to wait for me
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I think it's been said before that despite the characterisation of young people's music being dominated by crap from tiktok it's a bit more nuanced than that. For any youngster who actually likes music, with a bit of guidance (maybe I really mean brain washing) the world is their oyster. I've got a twelve year old who likes The Jam but is able to recognise the influence of the likes of The Kinks and The Who, along with knowing that Start leans heavily on Taxman because all of this stuff is easily accessible to him. Similarly he knows what influence both the Beatles and the likes of The Jam had later on with Oasis again because the technology means he can listen to them back to back. At the recommendation of someone on here, apologies I can't remember who off the top of my head, I was playing some Yard Act on holiday and he was able to give his opinion on who it reminded him of and what he made of it compared to someone like Artic Monkeys. Pretty sure I couldn't have done that at his age because I just hadn't had the exposure to the breadth of music he has access to every single day.
 
threespires said:
After about 2500 miles in the car with family Spires, my BM albums playlist was a partial success; in the last couple of days it got overtaken by the current new playlist which overall was definitely viewed more favourably.

in terms of the albums on this thread, there was lots of sticking to their knitting with stuff they were familiar with . So the likes of Revolver, TQID, and bits of Siren got played along with Songs of Faith and Devotion and Music Complete, Thin Lizzy, Prince and Marvin Gaye amongst others.

There were some familiar artists that they immediately wanted to divert onto other albums rather than the one in question, most notably Oasis, Prefab Sprout and Kate Bush. Similarly playing a track off Warren Zevon just resulted in demands for Money, Guns and Lawyers.

The most universally successful of material that was unfamiliar to them was Doolittle by some margin and then The Battle of Garden Gate. Cold Fact got some love too, especially in the light of Rodrigez’s passing. Bits of James King & The Lonewolves were enjoyed too. The response to Pixies did surprise me, not sure If Black Francis was aiming for the holidaying family market but that’s what he got in this case! Similarly, Fatima Mansions got a better reception than I thought it would.

Then there was the divisive stuff, which split along expected lines with two in (me and elder son) and two out (Mrs Spires and little un) which included King Crimson and Rory Gallagher. Also, though Mrs Spires will happily never hear Leonard Cohen again in her life, the eldest I think was wavering and could be turned. Going back to the subject of King Crimson, they and the Cars pick resulted in a bizarrely heated discussion about time signatures and polyrhythms (which strangely/mercifully? didn’t encompass Rush and Tom Sawyer) which then turned into an interrogation about why no one on the thread had nominated King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard yet! Similarly listening to the Pixies and a lesser extent the Breeders resulted in Sonic Youth auto playing at various points and the thread was berated for its lack of one of their albums; lack of Black Keys on the thread was also mentioned.

Some stuff was viewed as interesting but not summer driving music, things like Frightened Rabbit, Erland Copper and Tindersticks. Not sure I agreed with the ‘not summer’ analysis in all cases.

The only one of the lower scorers that they felt had been harshly dealt with was King Swamp.

However, and most disturbingly IMO, anything with even remotely country vibes was given relatively short thrift. Most shockingly they could not get into JJ Cale at all, nor Lucinda Williams despite multiple efforts. Same fate for Chris Whitely and Paul Brady I’m afraid. The only one that bucked the trend arguably was James King which has a bit of a twang at times. On the subject of which, for any Scots on the thread, we were in Liguria the first week of our hols and one lunch time I ended up finishing the bottom half of a bottle of grappa with the guy who ran the place we’d ate at, before he locked up for the afternoon. I was going to demure and suggested it was a bit too early in the day for me and possibly him too, to which his response roughly translated as ‘it’s fine, think of Liguria as Italy’s answer to Scotland’ (said in an entirely complementary not derogatory way). So, if any of you are looking for a warmer home from home in your dotage you might want to shortlist Liguria as an option!

The kids had some suggestions to move the thread away from its traditional spaces, but I think they might be a step too far for any of my nominations :-)
Click to expand...
Beside my own posts :) this is my favo(u)rite post on the thread.

I love the fact that they berated the thread for no Sonic Youth records. At some point I will try to remedy that.
 
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threespires said:
After about 2500 miles in the car with family Spires, my BM albums playlist was a partial success; in the last couple of days it got overtaken by the current new playlist which overall was definitely viewed more favourably.

in terms of the albums on this thread, there was lots of sticking to their knitting with stuff they were familiar with . So the likes of Revolver, TQID, and bits of Siren got played along with Songs of Faith and Devotion and Music Complete, Thin Lizzy, Prince and Marvin Gaye amongst others.

There were some familiar artists that they immediately wanted to divert onto other albums rather than the one in question, most notably Oasis, Prefab Sprout and Kate Bush. Similarly playing a track off Warren Zevon just resulted in demands for Money, Guns and Lawyers.

The most universally successful of material that was unfamiliar to them was Doolittle by some margin and then The Battle of Garden Gate. Cold Fact got some love too, especially in the light of Rodrigez’s passing. Bits of James King & The Lonewolves were enjoyed too. The response to Pixies did surprise me, not sure If Black Francis was aiming for the holidaying family market but that’s what he got in this case! Similarly, Fatima Mansions got a better reception than I thought it would.

Then there was the divisive stuff, which split along expected lines with two in (me and elder son) and two out (Mrs Spires and little un) which included King Crimson and Rory Gallagher. Also, though Mrs Spires will happily never hear Leonard Cohen again in her life, the eldest I think was wavering and could be turned. Going back to the subject of King Crimson, they and the Cars pick resulted in a bizarrely heated discussion about time signatures and polyrhythms (which strangely/mercifully? didn’t encompass Rush and Tom Sawyer) which then turned into an interrogation about why no one on the thread had nominated King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard yet! Similarly listening to the Pixies and a lesser extent the Breeders resulted in Sonic Youth auto playing at various points and the thread was berated for its lack of one of their albums; lack of Black Keys on the thread was also mentioned.

Some stuff was viewed as interesting but not summer driving music, things like Frightened Rabbit, Erland Copper and Tindersticks. Not sure I agreed with the ‘not summer’ analysis in all cases.

The only one of the lower scorers that they felt had been harshly dealt with was King Swamp.

However, and most disturbingly IMO, anything with even remotely country vibes was given relatively short thrift. Most shockingly they could not get into JJ Cale at all, nor Lucinda Williams despite multiple efforts. Same fate for Chris Whitely and Paul Brady I’m afraid. The only one that bucked the trend arguably was James King which has a bit of a twang at times. On the subject of which, for any Scots on the thread, we were in Liguria the first week of our hols and one lunch time I ended up finishing the bottom half of a bottle of grappa with the guy who ran the place we’d ate at, before he locked up for the afternoon. I was going to demure and suggested it was a bit too early in the day for me and possibly him too, to which his response roughly translated as ‘it’s fine, think of Liguria as Italy’s answer to Scotland’ (said in an entirely complementary not derogatory way). So, if any of you are looking for a warmer home from home in your dotage you might want to shortlist Liguria as an option!

The kids had some suggestions to move the thread away from its traditional spaces, but I think they might be a step too far for any of my nominations :-)
Click to expand...
Super post mate. You mentioned almost everyone. The favourite Saddleworth family driving play list always resulted in much bickering and ‘put that bloody rubbish off’. Until peace and unity was reached by putting Deacon Blue on for the remaining journey. Five in unison singing bloody Dignity. Again.
 
threespires said:
After about 2500 miles in the car with family Spires, my BM albums playlist was a partial success; in the last couple of days it got overtaken by the current new playlist which overall was definitely viewed more favourably.

in terms of the albums on this thread, there was lots of sticking to their knitting with stuff they were familiar with . So the likes of Revolver, TQID, and bits of Siren got played along with Songs of Faith and Devotion and Music Complete, Thin Lizzy, Prince and Marvin Gaye amongst others.

There were some familiar artists that they immediately wanted to divert onto other albums rather than the one in question, most notably Oasis, Prefab Sprout and Kate Bush. Similarly playing a track off Warren Zevon just resulted in demands for Money, Guns and Lawyers.

The most universally successful of material that was unfamiliar to them was Doolittle by some margin and then The Battle of Garden Gate. Cold Fact got some love too, especially in the light of Rodrigez’s passing. Bits of James King & The Lonewolves were enjoyed too. The response to Pixies did surprise me, not sure If Black Francis was aiming for the holidaying family market but that’s what he got in this case! Similarly, Fatima Mansions got a better reception than I thought it would.

Then there was the divisive stuff, which split along expected lines with two in (me and elder son) and two out (Mrs Spires and little un) which included King Crimson and Rory Gallagher. Also, though Mrs Spires will happily never hear Leonard Cohen again in her life, the eldest I think was wavering and could be turned. Going back to the subject of King Crimson, they and the Cars pick resulted in a bizarrely heated discussion about time signatures and polyrhythms (which strangely/mercifully? didn’t encompass Rush and Tom Sawyer) which then turned into an interrogation about why no one on the thread had nominated King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard yet! Similarly listening to the Pixies and a lesser extent the Breeders resulted in Sonic Youth auto playing at various points and the thread was berated for its lack of one of their albums; lack of Black Keys on the thread was also mentioned.

Some stuff was viewed as interesting but not summer driving music, things like Frightened Rabbit, Erland Copper and Tindersticks. Not sure I agreed with the ‘not summer’ analysis in all cases.

The only one of the lower scorers that they felt had been harshly dealt with was King Swamp.

However, and most disturbingly IMO, anything with even remotely country vibes was given relatively short thrift. Most shockingly they could not get into JJ Cale at all, nor Lucinda Williams despite multiple efforts. Same fate for Chris Whitely and Paul Brady I’m afraid. The only one that bucked the trend arguably was James King which has a bit of a twang at times. On the subject of which, for any Scots on the thread, we were in Liguria the first week of our hols and one lunch time I ended up finishing the bottom half of a bottle of grappa with the guy who ran the place we’d ate at, before he locked up for the afternoon. I was going to demure and suggested it was a bit too early in the day for me and possibly him too, to which his response roughly translated as ‘it’s fine, think of Liguria as Italy’s answer to Scotland’ (said in an entirely complementary not derogatory way). So, if any of you are looking for a warmer home from home in your dotage you might want to shortlist Liguria as an option!

The kids had some suggestions to move the thread away from its traditional spaces, but I think they might be a step too far for any of my nominations :-)
Click to expand...

That’s fantastic, like a journey of this whole thread.
Apart from the Oasis slander it was a great read!
 
threespires said:
The only one of the lower scorers that they felt had been harshly dealt with was King Swamp.
Click to expand...
Whilst I think that most of my nominations have had a fair hearing from everybody, I'm at a loss as to why only I can hear the brilliance of this album (although to be fair, OB1 did buy it based on the nomination). Good that some of your family can also hear it.
 
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