What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

WHAM!  "the final" cd, 1986

i had the radio on this morning and "im your man" was playing so i thought i would dig out some Wham!...
a compilation of all their singles from the get-go to the final curtain call....
a couple of not so great songs recorded for this one to bulk it out but other than those little mistakes this album is chock full of pop classics from the mid 1980s IMO...
looking back and listening to these again it is abundantly clear how classy an act Messers Michael and Ridgely were as songwriters.
like i said, apart from a couple of dud tracks...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

the song i heard on the radio this morning that inspired me to play the album:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

TAKE THAT  "greatest hits" cd, 1996

UK boy-band...
contains 18 of their biggest hits..
i was only aware of a couple before i bought this at a market for 50c...
but i am fully aware of Robbie Williams as a solo artist..
anyway, their chart stats are incredible, here they are:
14 #1 UK singles.
vocalist Gary Barlow has had 4 UK #1 singles.
and Robbie Williams has had 7 UK #1 singles.
that all said, there are only a couple of tracks i like on this compilation...
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

favourite:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

TAYLOR SWIFT  "midnights" cd, 2022

Tay-tay's tenth studio album, my tenth also...
big fan since "speak now" and havent looked back...
i initially said when i posted this that i was 'slightly underwhelmed', or words to the that effect and i still am...
the album is lacking something, some spark, variation or maybe both,
anyway this was always going to have to fill some big boots for me as i thought "evermore" and "folklore", her previous two albums are the two best albums of her career so far...
back to this one, it is still passable, just too much electronica/electro-pop synth sounds for me, 
in fact it almost comes across as a mash-up between Lorde and Lana Del Rey for the most part, now dont get me wrong i love both of those artists (and Taylor too) but not on a Ms.Swift album...
album clocks in at 1.8 for me, her weakest album IMO but....
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

to see where this ranks in my EOY list you can click on the link:  Crazy's 2022 purchases: (music-discussion.com)

i do not even have a favourite track on this album so i will go with the single:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

GEORGE EZRA  "gold rush kid"  cd, 2022

George's third, my third also...
dude has a big booming baritone...
acoustic driven tunes for the most part with catchy melodies and hooks, especially for the first half of the album,
then it got all mellow on me...loved the first half of the album with its foot tappers, second half not so much...
album was slightly disappointing for the final five tracks which lets the score down for me..
still, a decent album overall IMO scoring 2.0
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

click on the link to see where this ranks on my EOY list for 2022:  Crazy's 2022 purchases: (music-discussion.com)

favourite for me on this occasion, the lead off single:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

MADONNA  "bedtime stories" cd, 1994

her sixth of fourteen....
looking through my "M" artists cds i have nine plus a compilation or two...
album has a similar vibe to the "erotica" and "vogue" EDM vibes that preceded it...
a failure by her sales standards at the time only selling 8 million copies...
album isnt too bad but it does get a bit much of a muchness after the first few tracks and for that reason,
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

fave was the lead off single:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SHANIA TWAIN  "now" cd, 2017

her fifth and latest effort (but another in on the way in early '23 apparently)...
picked this up at a flea market for $1 a while ago and never got round to playing it until today...
she left country behind a long time ago, but really, was she ever country?...
pop through and through here...
and it pains me to say it but there is not one song i actually liked, i guess "come on over" and "up!" were too hard an act to follow...
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

lead off single and i have to admit i still like watching her video clips...

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NO DOUBT  "return of saturn" cd, 2000.

Gwen and band's fourth studio album of of sixth...
i have three from memory...
although classed as a rock band i dont feel right putting this in rock, soft rock of God forbid hard rock (LOL)...
pop seems more apt that alternative so here goes...
lots of catchy tunes on here as you would expect from Ms Stefani and Company....
nothing on here that i do not like but equally, nothing i love neither, just an all round good album...
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

fave always has been and still is the second single:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

MARIAH CAREY  "merry christmas" cd, 1994

picked this one up for $1 from a stall at a market a while ago...
only other thing i own is 1993's "music box" which i love...
i also love this album after one listen, great stuff, up there with Boney-M and Elvis Presley for great Christmas tunes IMO...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

fave is the obvious choice still...

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA  "left of middle"  cd, 1997

a revisit...
aussie songbird...
her debut of six, sadly and embarrassingly, i only own this one
brilliant stuff from the opening track "torn" through to the title track closer...
not a bad track on here and plenty to love...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

title track on this occasion:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BEYONCE  "i am....sasha fierce"  cd, 2008

a revisit...
her third of seven, only thing i own...
not sure why i did not go back for another helping...
solid pop tunes and ballads on here...
the girl sure does have a good set of lungs on her...
songs are generally about love, sex, relationships from a female perspective.
no smut, disgusting language or porn, just solid pop...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

favourite is the lead off single:






If I were a boy, even just for a day
I'd roll outta bed in the mornin'
And throw on what I wanted, then go...


Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I'd kick it with who I wanted
And I'd never get confronted for it
'Cause they'd stick up for me...

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man...

I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
'Cause he's taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed...

If I were a boy
I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it's broken
So they'd think that I was sleepin' alone...

I'd put myself first
And make the rules as I go
'Cause I know that she'd be faithful
Waitin' for me to come home, to come home...

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man...

I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted (wanted)
'Cause he's taken you for granted (granted)
And everything you had got destroyed...

It's a little too late for you to come back
Say it's just a mistake
Think I'd forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong...

But you're just a boy
You don't understand
Yeah, you don't understand, oh
How it feels to love a girl, someday
You'll wish you were a better man...

You don't listen to her
You don't care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
'Cause you've taken her for granted
And everything you have got destroyed...

But you're just a boy...