What Are You Listening To?

[SteveO]

How will I ever listen to all the great recommendations by you guys ? I'm not 13 years old !!!!

[Music Head]

How will I ever listen to all the great recommendations by you guys ? I'm not 13 years old !!!!

If you had vinyl, you could play them at 78 rpm.

[Music Head]

from my library (vinyl)



Them little Rascals had some great hits back in the mid 60's. This is their fifth album and near the end of their run. The groups last #1 hit from here of People Got To Be Free, with the album itself starting the downhill slide in comparison to earlier ones, only making it to #17. That may have had to do with it being a double album. If it was priced as such it was a ripoff, at least to me. The reason being the second disc is entirely instrumental. How can you have blue eyed soul with no voices? And what does that even mean? Why wasn't it white soul? Some white people have eyes that are not blue. Wait, where was I? Oh yea, instrumental. Three tracks on the second disc, one nothing but a drum fest. A 13 minute drum solo is a little too much for me. This ain't (short for ai not) Gene Krupa people. If this would have been a single album of only disc 1, I would love this album. The inclusion of that second disc brings it down to a like level. Nothing on that first disc I do not like. Lead vocals are traded off on the singing tracks to all but drummer Dino. Felix was always the best for me. Two other singles from here with Ray Of Hope and Heaven, neither of which did much. A few of these clips contain multiple tracks, thus the duplicate links.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

Worst Track - Boom

Best Track - People Got To Be Free

All the world over so easy to see,
People everywhere just wanna be free.
Listen, please listen,
That's the way it should be.
There's peace in the valley,
People got to be free.

You should see what a lovely,
Lovely world this would be.
If everyone learned to live together.
Ah-ah hah-ah.
It seems to me such an easy,
Easy thing this should be.
a-Why can't you and me,
Learn to love one another?
No, oh-ah, now.

(All the world over so easy to see),
Hah.
(People everywhere just wanna be free.)
Wanna be free.
(I can't understand it, so simple to me,)
It is.
(People everywhere just got to be free.)

If there's a man who is down
And needs a helping hand,
All it takes is you to understand,
And to pull him through.
Ah-ah hah-ah.
Seems to me, we got to
Solve it individually.
Ah-ah-ah.
And I'll do unto you,
What you do to me.
Said, no, oh-ah-ah.

(There'll be shoutin' from the mountains,)
(On out to sea.)
Out to the sea, yeah.
(No two ways about it, people have to be free.)
They got to be free.
(Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be,)
Ah-ha.

1) America The Beautiful ***
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExB4A0pJRv8
2) Me & My Friends **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExB4A0pJRv8
3) Any Dance'll Do **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5Bto4HAyE
4) Look Around ***
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHmIV3t7490
5) A Ray Of Hope **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHmIV3t7490
6) Island Of Love **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYz4Q2pzBH8
7) Of Course ***
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV4SIc1T39w
8) Love Was So Easy To Give ***
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV4SIc1T39w
9) People Got To Be Free ***
live - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sastKEBZhXY
10) Baby I'm Blue **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ala0WRWj3QE
11) Heaven ***
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ala0WRWj3QE
12) Adrian's Birthday *
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Oht6TkUKo
13) Boom *
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NleMAqC_-U
14) Cute *
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ZHnMbleMc

3's - 6
2's - 5
1's - 3

Grade - 2.2

[SteveO]

TIME PEACE: THE RASCALS' GREATEST HITS (1968)


Side One

1. I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore
   
2. Good Lovin'
   
3. You Better Run
   
4. Come On Up
   
5. Mustang Sally
   
6. Love is a Beautiful Thing
   
7. In The Midnight Hour
   

Side Two

1. (I've Been) Lonely Too Long
   
2. Groovin'
   
3. A Girl Like You
   
4. How Can I Be Sure
   
5. It's Wonderful
   
6. Easy Rollin' - non LP single
   
7. A Beautiful Morning
   

Springing off of Music Head's brilliant review of Rascals' Freedom Suite I dug out an old vinyl copy of their Greatest Hits ! I love this album but like a lot of others,they are forgotten in a time warp until you are reminded of them again. I bought this vinyl 33 rpm when it first came out in 1968 at a local small department store(Kresges).

I was attracted to this group because of their R n' B soul sound that skyrocketed the 45 rpms Groovin', Beautiful Morning and Good Lovin' to number one as well as this album.

The other tracks are good especially How Can I Be Sure (love Eddie Brigati's voice) and covers of In the Midnight Hour and Mustang Sally.

I love this album and it's a pleasure hearing it again on vinyl even if I can hear some pops !

[Tiggi]

This 1982 album was my introduction to RH, courtesy of Topo (Best Man at our wedding).

It's regarded as an over-produced release - even Harper describes it as a career low point in the CD booklet - and isn't well regarded. I adore it, though.

As with all of his work, it fits the "poetry set to music" category, and the music has a slight Floydiness to it.

Won't be for everyone, but as already stated, I love this album. AllMusic don't...


AllMusic 2/5 stars.

[Music Head]

from my library (vinyl)



Not sure but I think this is the only album I own by these UK rockers whose heyday was mid 60's-mid 70's. Never much success in the states with this tenth album reaching #163. One of only two group albums to chart here. Bowie must have been a fan as he covered two of their songs on his Pin Ups lp. Guitarist Dick Taylor played with Jagger and Richards in an early version of the Stones before their fame. Numerous line up changes in those early years. This is the last album featuring original vocalist Phil May. The band took a 4 year recording break at this point. May has since rejoined and the band is still touring with a release as recent as 2007. Gotta be a sad looking group at this point I would think. This album comes in as a mid-range like for me with nothing great and only the last track of the instrumental Theme For Michelle failing. Not representative of the album, the soft Sad
Eye works best for me.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

Worst Track - Theme For Michelle

Best Track - Sad Eye

Well if you ever baby,
Feel like changing your mind,
Don't think twice just take it easy,
Anything you do will please me.
Just as long as you see me.

And if you ever baby,
Feel like starting again,
All you gotta do is phone me,
There is nothing you need show me.
Just as long as you know me.

Well I knocked on every door,
Looked on every sea and shore.
Just to find that you had left me.

You were a special one,
Like the setting of the sun,
Now it's too late to help me.

1) Under The Volcano **
2) My Song **
3) Sad Eye **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmSgUVv6f0
4) Remember That Boy **
5) It Isn't Rock 'n' Roll **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSAMI-BxrI
6) I'm Keeping **
7) It's Been So Long **
8) Drowned Man **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpPwcZWNWc4
9) Theme For Michelle *

3's - 0
2's - 8
1's - 1

Grade - 1.9

[kokoxx]

TheDeathSet - Can You Seen Straight?

http://youtu.be/JSYkQAz18Bg

[Jerome]

While on holiday the last couple of weeks I played Jethro Tull's 'Heavy Horses' a lot. Maybe it just slotted in with the rural feel of the place I was staying at. Anyway, it's the extended version of the original vinyl album and includes 2 brilliant bonus tracks which they should really have included on the original album. (Broadford Bazaar & Living in These Hard Times). It also struck me that this has to be one of the finest albums I own (in terms of quality of material/writing and excellent recording - every single instrument is crystal clear and the mix is a masterpiece). Mr Anderson is well-known for being a particularly hard taskmaster and the label 'ex-Tull' was highly regarded for years. I think this was their absolute peak in terms of overall production.

[Tiggi]

In the post above about Work of Heart, the point is made about Harper being dissatisfied with that album.

This is his response to the situation. The album was released in 1985, and is more or less a release of the demos for WOH, albeit they're given a bit of a polish. There are a couple of different songs on this one, and the majority of it consists of acoustic versions of the WOH songs.

Neither were critically well received, but consensus suggests that this is the better of the two. I profoundly disagree.


AllMusic 2+/5 stars.

[Jerome]

Joe Walsh - You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind. His best work live.