What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I don't know if you read autobiographies bob_32 but if you do, and you haven't read it yet, I suggest Pete Townshend's "who I am" from a year or so ago...
its a superb read from start to finish.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

DAVID BOWIE "young americans" cd 1975

career stats:
studio albums...............27
singles........................121

this album...................#2 UK...#9 AU...#3 NZ...#9 US
singles:
"young americans"......#18 UK...#27 AU...#28 US
"fame"......................#17 UK...................#1 US

"the thin white duke's" tenth studio set...
this time he delves back to the sound of Philly Soul....
a very funky album....
if you like the two singles, then youll like the album as the other tracks
sound and eel like those two...
well, except for the cover of the Beatles "across the universe"...sorry Mr.Bowie,
but no one could ever match the sound that was achieved with the original recording, not even
with John Lennon helping out on it....!
yes, Lennon helps put on this album, some backing vocals here and there, some piano and guitar work also...
even though Lennon doesn't get writing credits for "fame"(the song), according to Bowie, in an interview I saw on YT
after his death, he credits his friend John Lennon for coming up with the title, the melody and the main hook in the song...
that track cam about (according to Bowie) from a conversation they were having about crooked managers and accountants
and that both had had their share of them previously, in other words theyre just out for the money and the 'fame'...
a good album , nowhere near his best, but also, nowhere near his worst neither.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: across the universe
best track: young americans

[video=youtube;ydLcs4VrjZQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydLcs4VrjZQ[/video]

tracks:

1...young americans ***
2...win **
3...fascination **
4...right **
5...somebody up there likes me **
6...across the universe *
7...can you hear me? **
8...fame ***

3s=2
2s=5
1s=1

rating: 2.1

[bob_32_116]

Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl



His last album, and many say it was his best, though to be fair, Roy was never really an "album artist".

Released in 1988, it managed the surprising feat of sound modern, and at the same time sounding like vintage Roy Orbison. That's probably because although many of the songs were self-penned, he was also helped out in the writing and production department by such luminaries as Bono and The Edge, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

There are really no dud tracks; there are a couple that are a bit ho-hum, the rest are excellent.

Worst track: The Only One
Best track: California Blue

Overall rating: 9/10

[Music Head]

^^
nice review bob
keep them coming

[bob_32_116]

^^
nice review bob
keep them coming

OK....

Listening now to:

Pet Shop Boys - Yes


I love this album. The only reason I ended up buying it was because it was one of the albums available on the KLM in-flight entertainment system when I flew to Europe in 2009. Sitting in an aircraft is an excellent opportunity to hear and appraise several albums during the flight, and this is one of two albums that I heard on that flight and subsequently purchased. (The other was Coldplay - Viva la Vida etc.)

Some people are likely to say well, you either like the Pet Shop Boys or you don't. I think there is more to it than that, because I heard both of the subsequent PSB albums and did not like either one nearly as much Elysium wasn't too bad; Electric seemed to be an album of uninspiring dance club tracks, with the best track, oddly, being a cover ("The Last to Die", written by Bruce Springsteen).

But back to Yes:

It's mostly very bright and poppy, but that's not something I have a problem with if the tunes are decent, and these are. The more I listen to this album, the more I think of George Michael; I'm sure there is more than a little influence flowing back and forth between George and PSB. Songs like "Did You See Me Coming" "Vulnerable" and "The Way It Used to Be" would sit perfectly well along such Michael numbers as "Amazing", "The Strangest Thing" and "Precious Box". for those familiar with GM's output.

There is one track on the album that is very different from the rest. The closing track, "Legacy" is not a dance track at all; it is quite slow and brooding, though it builds to a kind of climax. It sounds as though it should be part of some kind of movie. I am buggered if I can make out what statement the lyrics are trying to put across, with the repetition of the phrase "You'll get over it"; maybe it's just one of those "stream of consciousness" songs. Either way, for me it works, though it's definitely not what you expect to hear from the Pet Shop Boys.

Worst track:
There is nothing really bad here. "All Over the World" gets a slap on the wrist for an uncredited use of a sample from Tchaikovsky.

Best track:
I'm tempted to say Legacy, otherwise it would be Vulnerable or The Way It Used to Be.

Overall rating: 9/10

[CRAZY-HORSE]

good stuff bob_32,
and like MH said...."keep 'em coming"!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

QUEEN "innuendo" cd 1991

career stats:
studio albums..............15
singles........................72

this album.....................#1...UK...#6 AU...#30
singles:
"innuendo"....................#1...UK...#28 AU...#10 NZ
"im going slightly mad"..#22..UK
"headlong"...................#14..UK
"the show must go on"..#16..UK...#75 AU...#20 NZ

Queen's fourteenth studio album and final one to be released prior to Freddie's death at the end of the year....
album is a return to their more rockier sounds of the 1970s and early 1980s as opposed to their synth pop sounds
from 83 onwards....
to me, Freddie's voice has gone kaput but the experts say he till had a four octave range on this album....whatever!
album is a piece of crap IMO, virtually nothing on it I remotely like and the ones I do like, well, that comes at a push...
to me, this is a sad way for the band to really end up as a swansong to one of rock's greatest front men!

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: take your pick, theyre just about all really bad!
best track: the hit man (best track at a push!)

[video=youtube;n3szPRF3gaM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3szPRF3gaM[/video]

tracks:

1...innuendo *
2...im going slightly mad *
3...headlong *
4...I cant like with you *
5...don't try so hard *
6...ride the wild wind *
7...all God's people *
8...these are the days of our lives *
9...Delilah *
10.the hit man **
11.bijou **
12.the show must go on **

3s=0
2s=3
1s=9

rating: 1.2

[Music Head]

^^
never heard that
sounds like I don't want to

[bob_32_116]

Propaganda - A Secret Wish

I may write a proper review of this when I have the time. Propaganda were part of the German industrial electro-pop scene of the 1980's, and were signed to Trevor horn's ZTT label. Horn was scheduled to produce this, their debut album, but the unexpected runaways success of ZTT's biggest act, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, led to Horn more or less dropping them and after artists to concentrate on FGTH, and the album ended up being produced by Stephen Lipsom, who nevertheless did a very creditable job.

My favourite track is the opening song, "A Dream Within a Dream" - not the only song with this same title to quote Edgar Allan poe's famous words.

[video=youtube;Q4E1zMLghhY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4E1zMLghhY[/video]

[CRAZY-HORSE]

JIMMY BARNES "freight train heart" cd, 1987

career stats:
studio albums......15
singles................63

this album...............#1 AU...#5 NZ...#104 US...#86 CAN
singles:
"too much aint enough love"......#1 AU...#4 NZ...#91 US
"driving wheels".....................#12 AU..#19 NZ
"im still on your side"..............#29 AU..#50 NZ
"waiting for the heartache"......#33 AU

Jimmy's third solo set....
and my favourite after "working class man".....
some guest muso/writers rock it out on this one....
Joe Lyne Turner of Rainbow fame by co writing a few tracks....
Jim Vallance of Prism fame does the same....
Desmond Child, songwriter of "i was made for loving you", "bad medicine" and "livin on a prayer"
fame puts pen to paper also...
as Does Bob Dylan who wrote "seven days", a track he wrote for Ronnie Wood, Ronnie thought his good
friend Barnesy could pull it off so he gave it to him (not sure if Ronnie ever recorded it though??)...
so as you can imagine with those writers on board, Jimmy really only needed to concern himself with
the vocal duties on the whole...

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

worst track: do or die
best track: im still on your side

[video=youtube;_cqWcQVE5bk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqWcQVE5bk[/video]

tracks:

1...driving wheels ***
2...seven days ***
3...too much aint enough love ***
4...do or die **
5...waitin' for the heartache ***
6...last frontier **
7...I wanna get started with you **
8...im still on your side ***
9...lessons in love **
10.walk on **

3s=5
2s=5
1s=0

rating: 2.5