Nightman Listens To – Stevie Ray Vaughan – The Sky Is Crying (Top 1000 Albums Series)!

Greetings, Glancers! It feels like an age since I’ve listened to one of Colin Larkin’s Top 1000 albums of all time. I’ve posted a few of my reactions recently, but most of those were written one or two years ago – the series had been somewhat left behind as I picked up on Marillion and closed out some of series. It feels good to get back into this, and it feels doubly good to be listening to an artist I’m already sort of familiar with. You see, being a guitarist in my younger days and hanging around with likeminded guitar fans, certain instrumental maestros would always come up in conversation – the Satriani and Vai speed merchants, to the more blues oriented guys like Vaughan. These were the people we looked up to and wanted to emulate. I don’t think (at the time) I’d ever heard a complete album by most of these people, Vaughan included, but instead knew various solos or individual tracks. So today, for the first time I’ll be listening to an entire album by SRV – The Sky Is Crying.

What Do I Know About SRV? As mentioned, a guitar hero who mainly stayed within the Blues sphere, and who died at an early age in a Helicopter crash. Another person we are left to wonder what they could have achieved and released had they not died so young.

What Do I Know About The Sky Is Crying? The name sounds familiar, leading me to believe I was probably aware of it once upon a time but have since forgotten anything about it. Looking at the tracklist, most of the songs seem to be covers, which isn’t unusual for guitar heroes – especially of the Blues variety.

Boot Hill: I’ve mentioned it elsewhere on the blog – while I enjoy Blues music, increasing as I get older it has to be in small bursts because it feels so limited in scope. I worry that, even with Vaughan’s performances, this album could wear out its welcome for me long before it’s over. This song is perfectly fine, but it’s like any other slower Blues track you’ve ever heard. I enjoy it more as a standalone listen rather than as the opening track to a Blues album. I suspect I’ll be repeating that sentiment through this post.

The Sky Is Crying: It’s a slower 12 Bar Blues song. I need to focus on SRV instead and not get so hung up on the limitations of the genre. SRV goes off on an absolute melter which takes up the bulk of the song, playing string bends which have no business being in the song but forcing them to work. His tone is so crisp with just the slightest hint of scratchiness to compliment the pain of the lyrics.

Empty Arms: A more up-tempo song, feels more jazzy, though we can immediately dismiss the lyrics – you already know what you’re going to get before any of these songs begin – various variations of ‘baby gonna be gone/baby done me wrong/ain’t got nowhere to run’ etc. Lets just focus on Stevie. A chaotic middle is the highlight, blistering between the ragged lead riff and frenetic, confident licks which dance the length of the fret board while playing with the allotted time signatures.

Little Wing: A cover of the Hendrix classic, and the song I’m most familiar with. This is both a more stripped back version and expanded at the same time. Stripped back in terms of arrangement and its focus on Blues compared with the more psychedelic and visionary aspects of the original. The introduction of harmonics in the intro here as very nice, going some way to evoke similar moods to the original. It’s also a fully instrumental cover meaning some of the emotion is lost, but it does fully free Stevie to interpret the vocals through his guitar, leading to some interesting translations. It’s not a disservice to either to say that Vaughan tops Jimi’s performance here.

Wham: Thankfully that little interlude from traditional Blues continues with this supersonic rendition. There’s barely a breath’s escape between notes here, a marvellous display of Vaughan’s talents – not merely a display of pacing and technique under strain, but of interpretation, consistency, and nuance. It really comes into its own after the 40 second mark, then doesn’t let go. A ridiculous cover every guitar lover should slap their ears around.

May I Have A Talk With You: This has a scratchy Hendrix intro, but soon devolves into another dirty Blues crawl. The licks are somewhat more traditional here, aside from their lead ins and the way they tail off – those are infused with little SRV flourishes. The lead solo is comparable – it’s firmly based in traditional roots but the little flourishes, from bends to slides, give it a harder modern oomph.

Close To You: Kicking off almost like Helter Skelter, this again becomes your traditional Blues standard shuffle. The verses have less input from Stevie and feel lackluster and repetitive – even the transitions between verses are riffs you’ve heard a hundred times. We have to wait for the solo for some life to be breathed into the song, but the solo is brief and the song ends quickly after, giving the whole thing a filler vibe.

Chitlins Con Carne: A jazz instrumental leading us away from the Blues standards once more, this has the slightest hint of Santana in tone and rhythm. As the focus is on Stevie, it’s a more interesting piece, and the change of framework away from Blues allows him to be more creative.

So Excited: A Vaughan original, this is a another neater blending of traditional Blues and Vaughan’s creativity, bringing only the barest Blues underpinning so that Vaughan can fire off a collection of tasty licks. It’s not going to change anyone’s world, but it showcases his control and style.

Life By The Drop: The most interesting song closes the album – it’s a more pop-oriented Blues number, but twisted by the acoustic approach. For the first time the vocal melodies are worth mentioning – it’s unfortunately missing any sort of solo which would have been neat to hear using the different guitar and sonic timbre.

What Did I Learn: I suppose this was a case of remembering rather than learning – just how tasty some of SRV’s interpretations could be having not listened to him in many years. I remembered how I can only take so much traditional Blues in one sitting, no matter how skilled and experimental the playing, but I also learned that the album wasn’t entirely Blues based.

Does It Deserve Its Place In The Top 1000: I’m veering towards not – I don’t know how many guitar hero albums are on this list – ones more focused on the guitarist than the band. If you have to include one, is this the best? What about the Vais, Malmsteens, Satrianis of the world? Buckethead releases about a hundred albums every year, some of those are bound to be good. What about the earlier and later Blues masters? Was this really influential enough as an album over and above others of the same ilk? No discredit to Vaughan, but these are the questions you need to ask if you’re including an album on a Best Ever List. For me, the virtuoso is always going to be lacking in the songwriting department, and no amount of technical skill and influence is enough to warrant a place on my list, without a solid basis in songwriting, and likely without a band to transform the works into songs and the songs into an album.

Let us know in the comments what you think of The Sky Is Falling!

Nightman Listens To Leftfield – Leftism (Top 1000 Albums Series)!

Greetings, Glancers! It’s another trip into supposed musical goodness today as I listen to an album I know absolutely nothing about but an artist I’m not sure I’ve even heard of. Yet it’s like 59th in Colin Larkin’s Best Albums ever. I have a feeling this was a 90s Dance act, something is stirring in my brain and saying ‘of course you know them, you noob, you’ve just forgotten them because they were crap’. So before I type the next sentence, I’m going to head to Wikipedia and grab the tracklist – that should confirm or disprove my inner monologue. Ah ha – there was a typo in my list – the group is actually called Leftfield. That doesn’t help me in any way, but as I discovered that I saw in fact that they are (were?) a 90s Dance act. So my brain was correct for a change. Somewhere in the recesses of my sub-conscious there must be a buried memory of this act or one of their tunes. I have no idea what that could be, but clearly I knew something of them once upon a time. I have nothing to add, aside from to remind you that I didn’t like most 90s Dance music. Lets do this.

What Do I Know About Leftfied: I assumed correctly they were a 90s Dance act.

What Do I Know About Leftism: It’s an album by Leftfield

‘Release The Pressure‘ opens with twinkling and blips and blaps. It’s eerie and evocative. It has that feeling of building up to something that I enjoy. Afrikaans whistle. Bloke voice. This is somewhat familiar. This section ends and a collection of throbs somewhere between Reggae and typical rave emerges. This part isn’t as interesting to me, it sounds a little… cheap? Certainly dated, but I can’t really criticise it for being over twenty years old. It does however have that Shaggy-esque accent vocal crap going on in the background. I like the atmosphere, but it feels too slow. What a minute. Did Leftfield do a Manics remix? Maybe that’s why I know them. Let me google…Nope, can’t find anything. The track goes on for another couple of minutes.

‘Afro Left‘ has some jangling strings and African voices, then a tribal drum, then a full on 90s beat. It has a beat, I’ll give it that. But it’s a bit shit. I’m not a dance guy. This to me is just some bloke talking, your standard 90s beat, with irritating clap quality alongside it, and some throbby bits. Now there’s a Dalek. I’m sure this would be the best thing ever if you were off your tits on pills, but literally anything is the best thing ever when off your tits on pills.

‘Melt‘ sounds like the start of the Second Delays album. Jazzy bits, laid back. It’s relaxing, feels like it was used in a movie. Hoo hum. Not much to say, it’s just plain, nice, nothing wrong. Just a little meh.

‘Song Of Life‘ like a blob of jelly wobbling downstairs. More ethnic voices. Drums drop. Again, it’s nice, relaxing. I can see this being seen as a higher art form than your standard dance garbage. I mean, it hasn’t pissed me off yet, so it must be doing something right. But it doesn’t excite me in any way. Now, I like the strings which have just joined, but it’s another song which feels more like a mood, like relaxing in the middle of an unknown land. Nothing wrong with that, but plenty of other music makes me feel the same way but more readily and with more feeling. I don’t get much emotion from this, as much as it is making me feel, or absorb that mood. Good bass drop to spruce things up. This is more like it, if only that bass drop and thumping beat had come earlier in the track. Then it goes a little crazy. Okay fine, a good tune, I could listen to this again.

‘Original‘ opens with beeps – Morse code? Then computer game loading screens and sirens. Then ethereal female vocals. Good so far. The vocals drop away and a series of beats drops. This feels a little The Matrixy. I suppose I still have a bias against Dance music that I expect it all to be, something pill heads and/or idiots dance to in clubs. Though I know that’s not the case, just the majority of what I’ve heard. I don’t really imagine anyone dancing to this, this is much more chilled and not repetitive like chart junk. But because of the bias, I do still wait for a bigger bass blast or for the speed to kick in, and it feels strange when it doesn’t.

‘Black Flute‘ is much more what the biased part of my brain expects Dance music to be. It’s marginally faster, the beat is insistent and consistent and constant, and a little tinny. This is the sort of dance music which doesn’t do much for me – it’s too repetitive and doesn’t lead anywhere. The beat will fade out at points, then come back in, but that’s about it. About as generic as Dance music comes.

‘Space Shanty‘ is a name which almost forces me to like the song. It’s another tinny beat, feels like WipEout, adds some Eastern string fun, and feels like it’s building to something. Waiting (again) for a big bass drop. Now warbling noises. Now fatter beat. Better. This one changes itself up more than the previous track, adding a little something different on each rotation. It’s still repetitive at its core, most music is, but Dance especially, but yes this does add a lot more and keeps morphing into something slightly different while retaining the pounding beat.

‘Inspection‘ has a fade in and some preaching. I’m not a fan of a lot of spoken word stuff in the middle of songs, or Jamaican type accents. This has both, and the surrounding music is very sparse and uninteresting. Mostly assorted throbs and percussion. Possibly the most boring track so far.

‘Storm 3000′ sounds like WipEout again. A little spacey, a little morphy. A bit of pace, too much percussion which to me is generally tuneless and unnecessary. A little more melody drops eventually. Then we get some synth stabs before it all pulls together nicely. The last couple of minutes are better than the first two, a lot more going on.

‘Open Up‘ fades in, then follows with more African voices. Then beats and throbs. Bits of this feel familiar. The vocals seem familiar. Ah, it’s Mr Rotten himself. They seem like they have been artificially heightened. Burn Hollywood Burn. This ones okay, I can see this one being played in clubs, though I’m not sure what people would have made of the vocals. Near the end it changes to another whispering percussion phase and then morphs around back to the intro. Lydon sounds like Spongebob.

‘21st Century Poem‘ closes the album. It’s a slow build. Chimes. Some bloke speaking in whispers. Some throbbing stuff in the background. At around the two minute mark it opens up with a lot of wobbling and flopping synth stuff. This promises to go somewhere, then doesn’t.

I don’t think I’m ever going to be someone who just decides to stick on Dance music for pleasure, but I am trying to appreciate it more. There are typically only a small handful of DJs and Dance Acts and tracks I revisit, and even those select few are rare revisits. But this is one of the better Dance albums I’ve hear – it doesn’t become annoying or make me want to stab a bunch of chavs, and it has enough variety to keep me interested, at least with a first listen. I’ll add a few tracks to my playlist, but I can’t see myself listening to them more than a couple of times. The time for me to really enjoy Dance music has passed – in my late teens, early Twenties, when you were obliged to go to places and parties which played this type of music because some of your friends enjoyed it. Now that I’m stuck at home and can’t be arsed going anywhere, the chances of me listening to this stuff have evaporated and I’m only exposing myself to it through this blog. Still, it wasn’t bad, it has more musical merit than much of the Dance Music I’ve heard, and I can see why fans view it as a classic.

What Did I Learn: That Dance music isn’t always for dancing. It’s sometimes for sitting there and wondering why it’s not for dancing too.

Does It Deserve A Place In The Top 1000 Albums Of All Time: I’ll plead ignorance again and assume it was some big hit at the time or influenced a bunch of later stuff or is the peak of whatever sub-genre of Dance it is. For me, there’s very little here I’d choose to listen to again and it didn’t affect me personally in any notable way. It wouldn’t make my personal list.

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Song Of Life. Original. Space Shanty.

Nightman Listens To – Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (Top 1000 Albums Series)!

Greetings, glancers and man have I been looking forward to this one! I’ve always felt that this band was one I should have heard a long time ago given their affiliation with punk, grunge etc. Plus, I’ve always loved the name. And yet I’ve never bothered my arse ever listening to them. Plus, I always thought they were an all female band when I was young, until I actually saw a picture of them. They also popped up on one of my favourite movie soundtracks ever – The Crow. It wasn’t the greatest song in the world, but hey. Let’s do this.

What Do I Know About The Band: An alt rock/punk band who have split and reformed several times.

What Do I Know About The Album: It’s their debut, it’s from the 80s. That’s about it. I’m going to guess it’s more punk/raw than later stuff?

‘Blister In The Sun‘ is one I know. It’s a pretty great riff but you can’t avoid how cheap it all sounds. I generally don’t care about such things and with punk it’s a given, but it’s worth mentioning. It’s a song which sounds like it could be from era – 60s up to today – it could just as easily be from a modern hipster band as a 60s folk artist. I think this used to get played quite a bit in the rock and metal bars I haunted. Good bass, great drums, decent vocals, catchy as hell if a little repetitive. The riff is borrowed by Radiohead in Maquiladora.

‘Kiss Off‘ is very folk-driven. I admit I was expecting a lot more distortion than the style we’ve had so far. I love the bedroom production tone and feel – it reminds me of stuff I would record, not musically, and gives me hope for future artists. Although given this was released when I was a baby I suppose it shouldn’t count. It just has that youthful, no fucks given approach, while very clearly giving a fuck. Plus it’s just as good a song as the first, if not better.

‘Please Do Not Go‘ opens like Big Yellow Taxi. Then a fat bass riff dives between the military beat. There’s no way I’ve heard this before, and yet it fills me with nostalgia for some time and place I can’t put my finger. Not as good as the first two songs, a little more loose and rambling, the vocals and lyrics particularly, but still good.

‘Add It Up‘ starts vocals only. Like an old-timer on his rocking chair in the Wild West. Then it goes garage rock with Beach Boys bass. Boy’s got a dose of the horn (needs some luvin’). It’s catchy again and definitely the sort of thing I would have enjoyed in my teens. A nicely chaotic finish.

‘Confessions‘ feels a little different. A slow, spirited, more electric intro. More laid back lyrics. Of course once the lonely lyrics hit the tone changes. Bass follows the guitar riff, drums blast throw in waves. It sometimes lashes out then withdraws. They go all in with the noise at various points, then elsewhere it’s a whisper. Pretty cool stuff.

‘Prove My Love‘ opens like The Cure… or maybe like Toni Basil’s Hey Micky. That all gives it a humourous air on top of the general levity on display. It’s another good song.

‘Promises‘ adds a further touch of electricity which makes things feel just that little bit heavier. The vocals here are a little too talky for my liking. I like rap vocals, I like ‘traditional’ vocals, I’m not a huge fan of the in between style. There’s more Hey Micky drumming in the middle, just after a more melodic vocal. Great bass once again.

‘To The Kill‘ starts in twiddling made up on the spot fashion. The twang and the tone reminds me of Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol… and various others from In Utero. Some good moments, a little too loose and a little too much of the talky style again, but I could see myself liking more with further listens.

‘Gone Daddy Gone‘ is different again, thanks to the… is that a xylophone? The style and beat and rhythm is pretty similar to the rest. It very much retains the bedroom production quality and I can just imagine someone walking in to the room drunk one day with a xylophone under their arm, laughing, and saying ‘what about this’. We even get a full blown xylophone solo so it’s not like it’s just their for the bants. It’s good again.

‘Good Feeling‘ closes the album. It’s slower, sweeter, a goodnight kiss. It’s all very lovely, and you know how I feel about well places strings. A great ending and one which isn’t really in line with the rest of the album, yet still fits.

What Did I Learn: It’s one of those albums which is so highly regarded, yet I know for a fact I could (and have) made music just as good as this. That gives me a strange dualism – hope that this sort of music will live on in the face of all the shite which hits the charts, yet disappointment that I never had the real impetus/bravery/skill/luck/person to push me to get my own stuff out there. I’m not saying this to make me look like some sort of untapped talent, it’s simply a fact – I liked this album and I have demos of songs which I think others would like. I had no real interest in being a star, I just wanted to make stuff that I liked and knowing that my musical tastes aligned with plenty of other people then it seemed likely that plenty of others would like some of it too. Don’t worry, once I get my new DAW set up on my new laptop and some more pieces of equipment, I’ll record my stuff and then y’all can rip it to shreds. Spoiler Alert – I can’t sing for shit. Well, I can, but my voice is not something I would choice to have or hear, so there is that.

It’s not the distorted noise I usually look for in punk and goes for a much cleaner sound. It’s still angry, but not so much focused on politics or the bigger picture as much as daily teen life.

Does It Deserve Its Place In The Top 1000 Albums: I can taste its influence in a lot of other bands and artists – some of which I love and others which I don’t. Outside of that, many of the songs are great and deserving of whatever praise has already been heaped upon them. In that respect I wouldn’t have any argument against this being included.

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Kiss Off. Blister In The Sun. Confessions. Prove My Love. Good Feeling.

Nightman Listens To – Stan Getz – Jazz Samba (Top 1000 Albums Series)!

Greetings, Glancers! I have no idea who or what a Stan Getz is but I’m assuming from the title that this is going to be something I am going to dislike. Jazz almost immediately turns me off, but I’m trying, while Samba is fine if I’m on holiday or about to go on holiday. As music to sit and listen to, neither are high on my list of ear candy. The whole point of the series was for me to learn, to listen to music I may not ordinarily choose to, and to see if I agree that the albums on the list should be considered the greatest of all time.

What Do I Know About Stan Getz: Absolutely nothing. I assume he’s a jazz guy.

What Do I Know About Jazz Samba: Never heard of it.

Desafinado: Bass and a soothing shuffle suggests a samba beat. Then more percussion followed by smooth lead lines. It’s very nice, but feels to me like restaurant music. Like elevator music, but better for digestion. Bearing in mind I know nothing about jazz, take anything I say understanding that I’m a Philistine when it comes to this topic. I do appreciate good playing, and there’s some silky guitar here. It’s all very smooth and relaxed, even if the percussion feels frantic. In terms of my feelings on Jazz, this doesn’t annoy me so that’s a tick in the plus column. Would I choose to listen to it though – no.

Samba Dees Days: Still smooth, but a more upbeat higher tempo piece. This one I can imagine people dancing too, maybe with a grass skirt on, maybe Business men and their wives on vacation in the 60s trying something new. Decent playing all round once more. Both tracks have had little guitar interludes which makes things more appealing to me. This reminds me of Mario Kart music.

O Pato: Another relaxed, summer vibe track. Again, if this was playing in the background while I sipped a Miami Vice while my legs burned and my toes dipped into the sand, I wouldn’t mind. Even outside of that situation I don’t mind listening to it. I can’t see myself ever lifting it off my shelf and putting into stereo, or choosing from my iPod.

Samba Triste: The guitar adds more of a Mexican vibe, something about those minor arpeggios. It’s a slower piece, maybe not melancholy but more reflective. It’s nice, I get it.

Samba De Una Nota So: This longer track opens with a similar shuffle sound and similar vibe to most of the others. Aside from the previous track, most of the pieces do sound very similar. This has a neat little funky ascending and descending piece just before the minute mark. I wonder if there will be a guitar led section. Almost everything I’ve said about the other tracks applies here too. Here’s the guitar section.

E Luxa So: Another faster piece, more laid back dancing and lazy drunkenness.

Bahia: The closing track. Also the longest track. I was going to say this one lacks the shuffle, but then it came in. It’s another more languid track – I use the term in a positive way. It follows the same format as the others – shuffle, horn piece, guitar piece, horn piece, end. The guitar here is faintly reminiscent of Ren And Stimpy. And The End by The Doors.

What Did I Learn: That I didn’t hate this. Maybe smoother, more chilled jazz is more my style? I’m sure there’s a name for whatever this is, beyond Jazz Samba. I feel no compunction to ever listen to this again, but if it was playing and the situation was suitable, I wouldn’t switch it off.

Does It Deserve Its Place In The Top 1000 Albums Of All Time: It wouldn’t make my personal list and on the surface I don’t see why it be on anyone’s unless they love this style of music. Therefore I can only assume it was influential and culturally significant – something which always seems to wield more importance when it comes to critical lists. I get that the best of the best can’t simply be good music, or high selling, or critically acclaimed and that they need some sort of wider reaching importance. In my scale of reviewing a piece of work all things are equal, so if you were influential, but didn’t sell and are not musically interesting or engaging then your not going to get a high score from me.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Jazz Samba!

Nightman Listen’s To – Harvest Moon – Neil Young (Top 1000 Series)

Greetings, Glancers! Another day, another album to expose myself to. Yes, as I sit here completely bollock naked in front of my screen, I am ready to absorb some good tunes into my many orifices.

What Do I Know About Neil Young: All the grunge kids liked him. All the grunge bands too. As a grunge kid myself, I’m sort of surprised it’s taken me this long to get here. I’ve heard some of his stuff, I know he’s experimented with a variety of styles, but I’ve never sat down and listened to a single album. Naked or otherwise.

What Do I Know About Harvest Moon: It’s a series of games which merge farming simulator with RPG and dating antics, played at a gentle pace yet oddly addictive. Heh, you saw that one coming, right? I’ve been aware of the album for a long time and I’m surprised Larkin didn’t have it higher on his list given that other critics seems to rate it higher.

Unknown Legend: I like the main riff, but I’m immediately on guard because it sounds country. You know I can’t stand country music. The lyrics, the way they rhyme sounds very forced and overly simple. Musically simple, nevertheless there are dynamic qualities like the female backing vocals in the chorus. The lead vocals aren’t great but I was kind of prepared for that..that country guitar though…. nothing will ever convince me that it it’s good, and I’m not a huge harmonica fan either.

From Hank To Hendrix: Doesn’t bode well starting out with harmonica and the exact same rhythm as the first song. I do appreciate the laid back nature but I get the sense this is essentially a period piece from a specific time in the USA which means nothing to me – I wasn’t there, though it’s nothing like what I remember of the era – grunge. I like the effects on the harmonica, giving some sort of twisted futuristic feel to what is at its core an old fashioned song. I think I could like this one a lot with additional listens, but I also think I could tire of it quite easily – maybe only one for a certain mood.

You And Me: The vocals…. I know what he’s going for, but it’s clearly not his range. This reminds me of The Wicker Man, which is always a good thing. This is nice, too repetitive for me, also reminds me of The Battle Of Evermore. 

Harvest Moon: Hmm, I believe I know this one. I was going to say it reminded me of Close To You. Yeah, I’ve definitely heard this before, but I don’t know from where, possibly a movie or a friend. I checked out the video for this, and it’s cheesy as hell – terrible. I’m still not a huge fan of the vocals, they do break at points and fall out of tune momentarily, though this doesn’t appear to be done for effect. It’s sweet and gentle, but comes a little close to being cloying and twee.

War Of Man: This also seems familiar. I enjoy when the beat picks up in the intro giving things a more stomping, urgent feel. I’m not paying much attention to the lyrics, but I’m guessing from the vocal refrain it’s anti-war. Actually, that’s not much of a guess, it’s 100% clear. The vocals are still weird, a mixture of tone and accent and delivery.

One Of These Days: The vocals are all over the place here, not good. More terrible pedal guitar which I can’t stand. There’s a good song in here, but I can’t get past the vocals and pedal both which verge on and often soar past dreadful.

Such A Woman: This is more encouraging, orchestral, piano, something different. The vocals are fairly deep in the mix here, almost being swamped by everything else, which is probably a good thing. I think I could love this song if there was a decent singer getting stuck in and wrenching out every last piece of the emotion, because the music is beautiful.

Old King: No no, country is one thing… weirdo country is another thing entirely.

Dreamin’ Man: Didn’t we hear this one already? Sounds very similar to one of the earlier songs on the album. Identical rhythm, almost identical chords. The album got, well, crap, very quickly after a decent start. Too many samey songs, too much country. This is just way too simple, way too boring.

Natural Beauty: Not sure why the album is ending with a ten minute live performance. Assuming this is a live version of an older song? He doesn’t sound any better live than he does in the studio… in fact, he sounds identical. This song also sounds almost identical ot something from earlier in the album, the melodies are heavily borrowed, that sloth rhythm is still lingering, and the old trick of backing female vocals was overplayed by the third song. How can you have a ten minute song where almost nothing happens – no change in pace, style, anything?

What Did I Learn: Not much… Neil Young can’t sing for shit and he loves country shit.

Does It Deserve To Be In The Top 1000 Albums Of All Time: I think you can guess what I’m going to say in summary – some good songs, but needs the country whacked out of them and needs a decent singer to take control of them. The album sounds like it was made in the 70s, but was actually recorded in the nineties, so it can’t have had much influence on anyone significant. All of that adds up to a resounding no, which is a shame as I think this had potential to be much better than it is.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Harvest Moon!

Nightman Listens To – The Style Council – Our Favourite Shop (Top 1000 Series)!

When I started writing this series of Listens To! posts, my idea was to:

A: Listen to the tonnes of albums I have acquired over the years that I hadn’t bothered to actually listen to yet and give my thoughts as I listened for the first time.

B: Catch up on those artists that I was aware of/liked certain songs by, but whose albums I had never listened to in their entirety.

C: Potentially get some new favourites based off what I heard or by recommendations from my billions of readers.

D: Because there are a tonne of albums which always appear on best of lists which I have never heard.

As a musician, music fan, and human with working ears, I feel that I should give these a go. To get some focus, I decided to go to 2000 Edition of ‘Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums’ because it looks fairly comprehensive (and there are a few extra sections listing top 100 albums by genre which cover selections left out of the main 1000 which I will also try to cover).

When I started writing this series of Listens To! posts, my idea was to:

A: Listen to the tonnes of albums I have acquired over the years that I hadn’t bothered to actually listen to yet and give my thoughts as I listened for the first time.

B: Catch up on those artists that I was aware of/liked certain songs by, but whose albums I had never listened to in their entirety.

C: Potentially get some new favourites based off what I heard or by recommendations from my billions of readers.

D: Because there are a tonne of albums which always appear on best of lists which I have never heard.

As a musician, music fan, and human with working ears, I feel that I should give these a go. To get some focus, I decided to go to 2000 Edition of ‘Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums’ because it looks fairly comprehensive (and there are a few extra sections listing top 100 albums by genre which cover selections left out of the main 1000 which I will also try to cover).

When I started writing this series of Listens To! posts, my idea was to:

A: Listen to the tonnes of albums I have acquired over the years that I hadn’t bothered to actually listen to yet and give my thoughts as I listened for the first time.

B: Catch up on those artists that I was aware of/liked certain songs by, but whose albums I had never listened to in their entirety.

C: Potentially get some new favourites based off what I heard or by recommendations from my billions of readers.

D: Because there are a tonne of albums which always appear on best of lists which I have never heard.

As a musician, music fan, and human with working ears, I feel that I should give these a go. To get some focus, I decided to go to 2000 Edition of ‘Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums’ because it looks fairly comprehensive (and there are a few extra sections listing top 100 albums by genre which cover selections left out of the main 1000 which I will also try to cover).

When I started writing this series of Listens To! posts, my idea was to:

A: Listen to the tonnes of albums I have acquired over the years that I hadn’t bothered to actually listen to yet and give my thoughts as I listened for the first time.

B: Catch up on those artists that I was aware of/liked certain songs by, but whose albums I had never listened to in their entirety.

C: Potentially get some new favourites based off what I heard or by recommendations from my billions of readers.

D: Because there are a tonne of albums which always appear on best of lists which I have never heard.

As a musician, music fan, and human with working ears, I feel that I should give these a go. To get some focus, I decided to go to 2000 Edition of ‘Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums’ because it looks fairly comprehensive (and there are a few extra sections listing top 100 albums by genre which cover selections left out of the main 1000 which I will also try to cover).

When

Greetings, Glancers! Once more it’s time for me to broaden my horizons by listening to one of the greatest albums of all time. It’s fair to say that I haven’t been overwhelmed in my journey thus far – while there have been good moments, great moments, most of what I have listened to hasn’t been my cup of tea. Add to that fact the other fact that I hate tea. And coffee. Someone needs to ban that shit.

What Do I Know About The Style Council: Absolutely nothing. Although, something way back in the darkest recesses of my mind a little voice is squeaking ‘aren’t they one of those ‘orrible ska bands’. And oh crap, yeah, that does sound familiar. I have a vision of a pack of douches in hats playing ‘orrible ska. I really hope I’m wrong about this, because if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s ska. I’ve definitely heard the name, but I can’t connect the dots.

What Do I Know About Our Favourite Shop: They say never judge a book by its cover. When it comes to people, in many cases that metaphor is apt. When it comes to books, in most cases the metaphor is shit – if you don’t like the cover, you probably won’t like the book. When it comes to music, I find that if a band has a name, or if an album has a name that rubs me the wrong way, then nine times out of ten I won’t like said band or album. Having said all of that, this is a terrible name, or at least it’s one which does rub me the wrong way. Couple that with my ska concern, and not one part of any of this sounds promising. Oh God.

Homebreakers: Well, the second I visited youtube to listen to this, the game was up as I recognised Paul Weller. So that’s where I know the name from, suddenly it all fits. For the most part I like Paul Weller, in my limited listening of his work with The Jam, though sometimes he does veer awfully close to some of the ska punk bands…. Anyway… this opens with some Tube Station stuff. It’s a decent intro which suddenly becomes worrying when the brass comes in – brass equals Ska. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but I can count on a very few fingers the songs where brass is added that I’ve enjoyed. This is all quite funky, though it does feel very 80s. It’s certainly jazz infused, what with the horns and backing vocals – not a huge fan of the main vocal work or the melodies, but I could get used to the melding of styles.

All Gone Away: This for some reason reminds me of The Beautiful South – another of my most hated things. On the flip side it also reminds me stylistically and lyrically of Joni Mitchell, which is a much better thing. This is very… cute? I won’t go so far as calling it twee, but it’s nice, less depth than the first song musically, but I prefer the vocals and melodies. It could be the satirical intro to some twisted sitcom.

Come To Milton Keynes: I’d rather not. More organ, again which screams ska. There’s something lazy and sunny about the songs so far which keeps making me think of cheesy sitcoms or Caribbean beaches. The rhythm of the songs so far is very similar to each other which makes the vocals feel samey. There’s a nice middle section here to break things up, but I already know if this rhythm doesn’t change up in future songs I’ll get irritated before long. Now an unnecessary, but thankfully brief spoken part.

Internationalists: Great drum bombast gives way to funky guitar and stupid horns. A more hectic pace. Nifty guitar work in the middle. This is marginally more to my tastes. Still very 80s.

A Stones Throw Away: This starts wonderfully – give strings a chance to shine and I’ll be in love. This sounds familiar, actually – both reminding me of The Smiths, The Beatles, and making me question if I’ve heard it before. I am noticing the subtle and less subtle political lyrics. Great vocals this time, and the melodies blend with the strings. This was bloody fantastic.

The Stand Up Comic’s Instructions: They’re not going to, are they? Is that Lenny Henry? Yes. Talking, near rapping over some funky jazzy wank. Mostly this reminds me of The Wall. More political stuff. I’m surprised a bunch of idiots haven’t commented here calling this lefty PC Commie cuck agendist leftist crap. Yeah, idiots.

Boy Who Cried Wolf: This feels unusually sexy. A more straightforward pop song, and while I haven’t paid attention to the lyrics this time it sounds more like a love song of sorts. I can see the influence of this in a lot of later R’n’B. Mostly very nice.

A Man Of Great Promise: Church bells always depress me or put me on edge. A bunch of these songs make me think of another 80s band, but I can’t quite place it. Musically this is lovely again, not quite enough to make me seek it out again, but good enough for me to recommend it and not mind hearing it more. Lyrically it sounds like a dedication… I assume Paul’s not singing about himself.

Down In The Seine: Come on, I know I’ve heard this somewhere. I have no clue where, but this is definitely familiar. I’m still getting vibes of all the aforementioned bands. Now French vocals, now accordion. Good stuff again, the album getting stronger after a stumbling start.

The Lodgers: Ah, nice vocal intro. Breaks away into more 80s Floyd funk. Good lyrics, great rhythm, I like the vocals, the melodies. I could do without the organ.I’m even getting a Michael Jackson vibe here. I’d like to say this is superb, but purely personal preference holds me back from saying it. But it is very good. Thank God it’s not what I thought.

Luck: I don’t feel this one as much, though admittedly I was reading something about some Instagram bin-lid going on a racist rant about Martin Luther King while listening. This is quite poppy, what with all the vocal waverings going on. It’s fine, summery. This time it reminds me of both Phil Collins and Cartoone.

With Everything To Lose: Another merging the male and female vocals. Reminds me of Spanish holidays. That rhythm is back. This one’s just okay for me, not as strong as the ones I’ve called out as enjoying.

Our Favourite Shop: That sounds like one of the instruments I used to select on my dad’s old keyboard – like the keyboard version of a bass guitar. Still, it’s funky, there’s some funky organ, some sort of cowbell, piano, and… is this all an instrumental? You probably know my feelings on instrumentals – they have to be truly exceptional or exceedingly hooky to get me listening more than a few times. This is neither, but it ain’t ‘alf bad, guv. Pretty ballsy to name your album after an instrumental track, I guess.

Walls Come Tumbling Down!: I feel like this would have worked better if it had properly merged with the song before. Bowie vocals. Lady vocals too. Full disclosure. It’s a few weeks between listening to this song and listening to the previous tracks and this feels very similar to one I’ve already heard. Nevertheless, I like it well enough and wouldn’t switch channel or song if it came on. Can’t say I’d go searching for it though.

What Did I Learn: That The Style Council is not a Ska band and features Paul Weller. That I liked it more than I thought I would. That judging a book by its cover, or a band by their name is perfectly acceptable – as long as you have a few other facts to help.

Does It Deserve To Be In The Top 1000 Albums Of All Time: I liked it more often than not, but that’s not nearly enough for me to say it deserves a spot. I can tell at a high level it had an influence on later groups, but those groups would tend to be ones I don’t like or listen to much. I can’t give any good reason why it shouldn’t be included, so I fall on a maybe for this one.

Colin Larkin’s Ranking: 706/1000

Let us know in the comments what you thought of The Style Council’s ‘Our Favourite Shop’ and if it’s in your list of favourites!

Nightman Listens To – Blood, Sweat, And Tears (Top 1000 Series)!

Blood, Sweat, And Tears – are they a spin off of Earth, Wind, And Fire? Nobody knows. One thing is for sure, it has been blood, sweat, and tears listening to some of these so-called best albums ever. Hilarious! Now that the shite is out of the way, I’ll be honest and say I don’t know anything this band or album and I’m not sure I’ve even heard of them. That should make the next piece easy…

What Do I Know About Blood, Sweat, And Tears (band): Nowt

What Do I Know About Blood, Sweat, And Tears (album): Less than nowt.

Lets go.. the tracklisting doesn’t fill me with confidence but as the timeless saying goes ‘don’t judge a song by its shitty name’.

Variations On A Theme: Soft. Flutey, guitary. Quite nice. Feels like I’ve heard this before, once upon a dream. That it? Twinkles.

Smiling Phases: Jazz explosion. Organ. Drums. Funky. Vocals like Baywatch. Chaotic. Drum collapse. Good piano in middle. Lots of shifts. I actually typed ‘lots of shits’ first. It’s all over the place now, but just clinging on – I can dig this amount of jazz. Not much brass so far, so I’m good. Here come da brass. Regal. Back to vocals. Slowing. Drum disaster. End.

Sometimes In Winter: More standard soft jazz into. The flutey stuff gives it a smoother edge which I prefer. Not sure about the vocals, not very exciting or expressive – then I’m not a fan of smooth vocals. This is okay, a little plain, would be served better by a different singer. Some nice parts, lyrics better than vocals, but average all round.

More And More: Trumps. Funky. James Brown. Vocals okay. This has a harder edge, no doubt influenced by the rock of the era. Drum breakdown. Guitar jump scare. Lots of screams. See, again I can enjoy this level of jazz because its so infused with other styles. Sudden end.

And When I Die: Harmonica. Then turns into a jaunty circus pirate song. Faster. Tempo bouncing around. Funny organ. More. Yee ha. Happy songs about dying are probably hard to come by. Slower. Faster. Slower. Faster. End.

God Bless The Child: Slower. Swing. Too many trumpets. Religion. Everyone has covered this. Still not convinced by the vocals. Too slow and dreary for me. Piano shift. Foot tapping time. Turned into a completely different song. Crazy trump solo. More brass. Back to slow and harmonica. End.

Spinning Wheel: Honk in. Pretty sure I’ve heard this before. Vocals better again when gruff. Superman. Fart Trump. As commercial as such a mixture could possibly be. Flute weirdo moment. Going A Day In The Life. Laughs.

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy: More dodgy vocals. Whispery organ and sudden trump blasts. He’s better on the big notes. Not bad, just not my style. Seems a little cheesy, but the edge keeps it on the straight and narrow. More organ bits. The mix of jazz and funk and rock somehow works.

Blues Part II: 12 minutes, eh? Lets be havin’ ya. Organ, obviously, you’ve gots to start a 12 minute song with some organ. Tune’s struggling to come through. Meandering for now. Tune now. Ascending. Swirling. Faster. Where’s the beat. Trumpet disaster. Now beat. Bass. Very loose. Drums. Everyone’s getting a turn. Brass and bass. It goes on. And On. Sunshine Of My Love. Vocals.

Variations On A Theme: Is this the same thing again? Sure sounds like it.

What Did I Think: So, I see now that this was actually mostly a covers album, or at least features several covers.  That explains why some parts seemed familiar. Looking down the page on Wikipedia I see that a few of the songs were either outright covers or included some piece written by someone else. I’m not overly familiar with any of the originals so I can’t speak for how they have been adapted and translated. In the end though, I mostly liked it – no-one is more surprised than I am. It’s not something I see myself ever coming back to, but I enjoyed the energy. I do think the vocals could have done with a shake up, but that’s just me.

Does It Deserve A Place On The Top 1000 Albums of All Time: It’s another instance of the album not being immediately amazing to me to justify its inclusion, yet not obviously bad or average enough to cast it down outright. I can’t imagine this being massively influential – at least from a long-lasting perspective, but I can understand why it was a hit and is highly regarded. Not my thing, but when I can still enjoy something that is not my thing, then it must be doing something right.

Let us know in the comments if you have any particular love for Blood, Sweat, And Tears, and if you have any special memories attached to it.

Nightman Listens To – Jackson Browne – Pretender (Top 1000 Albums Series)

Greetings, Glancers. We’re up through the Sphincter of Musical Past once again and ironically have stumbled across some Brown. Or Browne. Jackson Browne, that is. Isn’t Jackson Browne a painter? What a loads of Pollocks. If it wasn’t clear already, I’m completely new to this boyo and this album, at least from a listening perspective, so I’m not sure what to expect. It’s about time I found something I’ll love though. These are supposed to be the best of the best, but so far this experience has been kind of like hearing your neighbours have sex when you’re a teen – you think it’s alluring and hot, and you want to listen more, but you remember they are both disgusting and frighteningly obese and too hairy. Or less alarmingly, it kind of feels like when you’re stuck with a roommate or friend who insists on playing you ‘their music’ and you just know you’re going to hate it but have to pretend otherwise. Anyway, on the surface this sounds more promising, more than all that Jazz muck anyway.

What Do I Know About Jackson Browne: Another folk singer who popped up in the sixties or seventies and probably sang about love and loss and hippies. I know I’ve heard some of his bigger songs.

What Do I Know About The Pretender: Nada

The Fuse: Tst. Tst. Tst. Piano. Shadows, nice, already my sort of thing. Vocals. Sorts very traditional American. And right on cue there’s the country sounds. Drum sound isn’t great. And right on cue he talks about a drum. A little bit of Disco in there too. Quite a lot going on here, speeding up, pausing, different sounds and styles. On first listen I like it, but it’s not quite ticking all the boxes for me. I love the main piano part, the faster pieces not so much. It then turns into Baywatch. It then turns into Welcome To The Machine. 

Your Bright Baby Blues: Slow. More Springsteen stylings. Organ. People going places fast, that old trope. It’s nice, not a lot to this one. But it’s nice. Sounds like a bunch of other average songs though – those songs you know you know but can’t name. Guitar solo. Maybe it’s a bit too close to country or something. Again it’s good but it’s lacking whatever it is that makes me truly love a song. That being said, both songs so far I’d happily listen to again and presumably they’d grow on me.

Linda Paloma: Harps and weirdness. Or some Spanish equivalent. Was going to say it sounded Greek or Italian as it makes me think of The Godfather, but then he said something about Mexico. Easy chugging chords in the background. Nice again. There’s a little vocal move he’s done in every song so far, you know, turning the last syllable into three. That’s the sort of thing I pick up on and get annoyed by. I can’t think of anything better word to describe than nice – it’s not doing anything for me emotionally, but it’s pleasant to hear.

Here Come Those Tears Again: Nice start. Piano mixing with guitar and drums again. Beats. Organ. Disco beats again. Backing vocals. Good guitar. I’m not sure if this is supposed to emotional – the lyrics suggest it is, but the music is pretty cheery. Maybe it’s his voice – it’s never strained and rarely varies. I prefer a little more distinction in my vocals.

The Only Child: You already know. Nice. I like this one in its opening few seconds better than the others though. Maybe it’s the strings and slower pace. Oh dear, it’s sped up. Most of lyrics are fine. I think his voice is definitely part of why it’d just not clicking, along with the weak drums and the country twinge. It feels like the sort of song Southern State US jocks don’t mind shedding a tear or two to. Heh. Tutu.

Daddy’s Tune: Same again, waiting for the drums and speed. Something about regretting relationship with dad, and not saying what you should when you could. This doesn’t really sit well with me because I regret everything I’ve ever said to anyone, usually the instant it’s out of my mouth. Oh God, where did those trumpets come from? It’s all a bit cheesy. It’s starting to annoy me now, this need to suddenly kick off the drums, almost as if he’s trying to appease an audience that isn’t interested in softer music. Or maybe this was his Daddy’s music and he’s doing it on purpose. I don’t think so. That’s two songs in a row which started perfectly well then fell apart completely.

Sleep’s Dark And Silent Gate: Cool name. Good opening. He knows how to start a song and suck you in. But he also knows how to kick you in the nuts and then laugh in your face for thinking it was going to be something you’d enjoy. At least there’s a bit of gruff in his voice in this one. This one is more pure, no backing drum shite. Phew, made it to the end without any bullshit, good job.

The Pretender: Sounds like the opening track, or what I remember of it. More lyrics. I suppose this spoke for a generation, it doesn’t really speak for me though even though we face the same struggles. This one is a little too plain and again I don’t feel the emotion.

Colin Larkin’s Ranking: 509/1000

What Did I Learn: That Jackson Browne isn’t just a folk singer with a guitar and has packed in much more depth from a musical perspective. That he’s a good lyricist, but that I don’t love his voice or connect emotionally with his songs as others no doubt will.

Does The Pretender Deserve Its Place In The Top 1000 Albums Of All Time: Well, I want to like it and given time I’m sure it would grow on it. But when comparing it something equally lauded by Springsteen or Joni Mitchell it fall short for me. The country hues never sit well with me so we’re already on a tumbling scale and Browne’s voice is too plain for me – it lacks the anger or sadness or raw power or rasp or unique quality that affects me on a personal level. On first listen, I’ve liked it more than some other albums I’ve encountered on the journey but it feels less important or revolutionary than those. It’s a no from me, but it’s fine.

Let us know in the comments what you think of The Pretender. Does this album hold special value for you, or is it one you’ve never heard?

Nightman Listens To – Incredible String Band – Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (Top 1000 Albums Series)

Greetings, Glancers and what the balls is this!? Lets not beat around the bush here – I have no clue what this is. Is this literally a string band? Or is it some proto-hipster name? Dear Lord, I have visions of some marching band monstrosity. I’ve never heard of the album, I’ve never heard of the artist…. I… I don’t have high hopes for this one. Prove me wrong boys/girls/strings… prove me WRONG.

‘Koeeoaddi There’: Arggh, instant vocals. Wavering all over the place. Wicker Man. Guitar. Sitar. What’s going on? Hippies. Didgeridoo? Too many things. Can’t focus on the lyrics as there’s other stuff happening. Loose structure. Now some sort of bells. Loose. Freestyle. Feels like a bunch of boys playing whatever the hell pops into their head in one take with no previous planning. Odd accent. People. Now trying Bollywood vocals. Lots of words. Other voices. Claps and clicks. Fish on a dish. Means?

‘The Minotaur’s Song’: Piano. More singing. Sounds Irish (yes, I know it’s Scottish) so that instantly puts me off. Still, it’s pretty funny though I’ve no idea if that is intentional. Lots of emphasis on certain words to give more comedy theatrical parts. Backing voices. This one has a more traditional structure, I guess. Jaunty. One of those songs I’d stick in a playlist for a party – once everyone is lulled into a false sense of security by other songs, this pops on and generates a collective ‘WTF’. Funny high pitched ‘can’. Claps. End.

‘Witch’s Hat’: Guitar. Minor. Major. Certainly. Clearly Wicker Man. Spooky. Flute jump scare. La la la. Monkey. One for drugs. The Witch’s Hat part is cool. I’m not a fan of the wavering vocals though. More la la las. Clearly taking the piss. End.

‘A Very Cellular Song’: Thirteen minutes, oh goody. Strings and things. Parts. Nice bit. Catchy bit. Goodnight refrain. They should play this in Church instead of, you know, ‘New born baby you’re a sinner and you’re fucked’ or whatever they actually play. Actually, that sounds pretty cool too. Too many goodnights. Silence. Michael Jackson. Who would Bruce? Hilarious mess. Kazoo. Saying things. Prancing hippies. Scratchy violin. Organ. More guitar mandolin stuff. Who would mouse? Burn some into muffins, chomp, 20 minutes later, and you’re on your back with your feet in a box reciting whatever random fragments pop into your head. Then laughing because someone said ‘Thierry Henry’. Voices. Talking. It’s not great guys, lets be honest. Slithering and squelching. I’ve recorded this sort of thing before and I’m fairly certain anyone with the slightest musical ability, drugs, and a 4 track has done the it to. Yeah, it goes on for a few more minutes.

‘Mercy I Cry City’: Falling bits. Guitars, flutey stuff, yeah, more of the same chaos. Snakes. Yeah, pollution, that’s bad. Litter, that’s bad. Neon, that’s… bad? Yeah, everything’s bad. Apart from drugs. And shitty countryside, freezing cold, cattle-corpse stained pastures where only pneumonia and desolation lies – that’s great though. Fools.

‘Waltz of the New Moon’: Singing. Wavering. Harp or something. Music fine, vocals ridiculous. Man it just keeps going and going until you buck the cd out of the car. There’s a fire king’s daughter – there’s always a fire king’s daughter.

‘The Water Song’: Someone failing in their attempt to flush an enormous dump. Wicker Man again. Praising the little brook while sacrificing a Christian child. God made a song when the world was new. It certainly wasn’t this shite. I need a slash.

‘Three Is a Green Crown’: Starts brilliantly. Then the vocals start and it falls to shit. Beatles. This is probably the best song so far, ominous. But sort out those vocals, jeebus. Right, wrap it up, 5 minutes was plenty.

‘Swift As The Wind’: Guitar. Plant voice. Sex noise. Slapping. Again it would be nicer with some regular vocals, but that ain’t the point. Chant the demons away. Repeat.

‘Nightfall‘: Voice. Sitar. Nightfall. It would be lovely if it wasn’t so crap. Some nice string bits. End.

What Did I Learn: Nothing really, aside from who the band are and what it sounds like. If someone says ‘Stoned hippy poets with too many instruments make music’ then you already know exactly what this will sound like without listening.

Does It Deserve A Place In The Top 1000 Albums Ever: Once again I’ll have to defer and assume that this was influential. Indeed I can hear later bands who were possibly influenced by this. But does that mean it’s actually good? Good then and good now? No. The answer is no. I appreciate it for what it is, and I like the loose feeling. But it’s mostly junk that I have no doubt anyone else could record with similar results. By all means make the music, absolutely make it, that’s what it’s for… but best ever? Ha. HA!

Colin Larkin’s Ranking – 408

Nightman Listens To – Steve Wonder – Fulfillingness’ First Finale (Top 1000 Albums Series)

When I started writing this series of Listens To! posts, my idea was to:

A: Listen to the tonnes of albums I have acquired over the years that I hadn’t bothered to actually listen to yet and give my thoughts as I listened for the first time.

B: Catch up on those artists that I was aware of/liked certain songs by, but whose albums I had never listened to in their entirety.

C: Potentially get some new favourites based off what I heard or by recommendations from my billions of readers.

D: Because there are a tonne of albums which always appear on best of lists which I have never heard.

As a musician, music fan, and human with working ears, I feel that I should give these a go. To get some focus, I decided to go to 2000 Edition of ‘Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums’ because it looks fairly comprehensive (and there are a few extra sections listing top 100 albums by genre which cover selections left out of the main 1000 which I will also try to cover).

Well, that post title was a mouthful worthy of Ron (porn). Exciting times, people! This will be the first Stevie Wonder album I have ever listened to from start to finish. When I was young I knew Stevie Wonder as ‘that guy Michael Jackson sometimes hung around with’ and as I grew older I began hearing a few singles by him. The few songs I heard, I mostly liked, but never enough for me to go buy one of his albums. Time passed, and here I am, about to embark upon what will presumably be a funky journey.

What Do I Know About Stevie Wonder: Blind musical prodigy, Wonder has been around for roughly three hundred years and influenced basically everyone who is in the music ‘business’ today.

What Do I Know About Fulfillingness’ First Finale: Nothing. Never heard of it. Difficult title to say aloud.

Smile Please: Feels like Santana for about six seconds. Low, almost drawled vocals. Reminds me a little of Chinese Restaurant music. Bum diddy bum. Summery stuff. Not especially buoyant or exalting.

Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away: Nice blend of keys and guitars and weird rhythms. This is better. There’s the bass. There’s the drums. Vocals still fairly deep. Good lyrics, questioning, still relevant. Growling backing vocals. The hand claps kind of work, and you know how much I hate hand claps. I can safely say I like this one, even if some of the percussive sounds aren’t the best and even if some of the backing vocals aren’t necessary.

Too Shy To Say: Soothing piano. Dreamy, wavey, Hawaii. All very lovely. Feels like a Bond song. Builds to a not-chorus. Simple love lyrics, yearning. I like the change in notes in the ‘I really love you’ line. Very nice.

Boogie On Reggae Woman: Fart beats. Drums. Funny noises. Sweetly funky. All very catchy and it pleads you to dance along. Harmonica. The keyboard noises are excellent – funny and interesting and funky. More harmonica.

Creepin‘: Slows things down, entrancing synth. Pause. Verse and vocals. I like the melodies and music, otherworldly. I like the structure – the pauses and shifts and changes, the addition of female vocals and other instruments etc. I can’t really add more to this, hypnotic night driving.

You Haven’t Done Nothin‘: Twinkles. Very superstitious. Good vocals and nice thumping in the background. Melodies good. Political. Angry. Dense. Brass. Doo do wop.

It Ain’t No Use: Starts as a ballad. Female backing vocals? More soothing melodies and sounds. These tracks are all good and I’d happily listen to any of them again, but none have really leaped out and grabbed and shaken me yet. This one drifts along nicely too even though the words appear to be about love irretrievable. Too many voices interweaving at the end.

They Won’t Go When I Go: Slow piano. Sounds like a sad one. Great piano melodies. Again the sound is hypnotic – a lot of sounds and ideas so it isn’t practical to type my virgin thoughts while listening at the same time. Good emotional outburst after the third minute. Is it about religion? I’m only paying attention to 20% of the lyrics.

Bird Of Beauty: Drums and weird laughing instruments. Backing vocals sound like mocking. Aside from the interesting, this one feels a little tame and samey. Sounds an awful lot like a song about drugs. Language change. Percussion too chaotic.

Please Don’t Go: Nice piano again. More farting synths. So many of the vocal melodies sound similar to one another. Still good though. Harmonica again. More vocals, growing, gospel, pleading.

Colin Larkin’s Ranking: 413/1000

What Did I Learn: I always knew i would like Stevie, but i was skeptical over how big a fan I could truly be. On the basis of this album it’s clear he has made a lot of great stuff which I didn’t know existed. None of the songs really grabbed me as instantly and as long-lasting as something like Superstitious, but there are a few I would like to listen to again to see how they sink in, while most of the others were pleasant and/or funky enough that I wouldn’t mind hearing again.  There’s a wide array of sounds and imagination, I can’t see there were too many truly emotional moments, and I do feel that some of the songs, melodies, and vocals overlapped too much between songs. Above all, it’s made me keen to hear more.

Does It Deserve Its Place In The Top 1000 Albums Of All Time: I don’t know how this compare’s to Stevie Wonder’s other albums or how influential this one was, how many copies it sold or singles it spawned. It’s the first album of its type that I’ve heard in my rundown of the Top 1000 albums and while it is consistent, and while it is good, it lacks those few songs which interact with me on a personal level. It’s only a few moments since I’ve stopped listening, but I can’t recall one truly great song that I want to instantly play again. My personal thoughts then would be a solid maybe, tending towards a yes – it should be included. There’s no way I could give it a definite no, but based on my own flawed personal tastes, I know I have heard better, and hope I hear better as my journey continues. Feel free to comment if this is one of your favourite albums, and let me know of any other Stevie Wonder records you would recommend.