#344: Lou Reed - Berlin

Lou Reed - Berlin

July 1973, RCA

1. "Berlin" - 3:23

2."Lady Day" - 3:40

3. "Men of Good Fortune" - 4:37

4. "Caroline Says I" - 3:57

5. "How Do You Think It Feels" - 3:42

6. "Oh, Jim" - 5:13

7. "Caroline Says II" - 4:10

8. "The Kids" - 7:55

9. "The Bed" - 5:51

10. "Sad Song" - 6:55

RESULTS

Rate: 7.5/10

Best Song: Lady Day

Worst Song: The Kids

Comments

Oh man, Lou Reed is the best.

Back in 1973, when this Album came out, Rolling Stone columnist Stephen Davis gave this Album a scathing review, calling it "a disaster". Years later, it's now included at number 344 in the 500 greatest albums of all time. Kind of funny how sounds adapt to retrospect.

I personally really enjoyed this Album. It's a somber Album detailing a failing relationship, riddled with drug abuse, domestic violence, and depression. The songs are very calm, but very bleak. A piano is present in almost every track, and the Album climaxes at "The Kids", with the couple's children crying as they are taken away by Social Services. Super dark stuff.

With all that in mind, none of the songs are outright bad, yet none of them really stand out. They are all very decent, but it's no surprise that none of the tracks hit their stride long enough to be a "hit". It's all very straight-forward, which I think is the point of the Album. I am a sucker for concept albums, and I think Lou Reed really struck the right chords when coming up with this one.

#345: Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

September 1984, Sire

1. "Psycho Killer" – 4:24

2. "Heaven" – 3:41

3. "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" – 2:09

4. "Found a Job" – 3:15

5. "Slippery People" – 4:00

6. "Burning Down the House" – 4:06

7. "Life During Wartime" – 5:51

8. "Making Flippy Floppy" – 4:40

9. "Swamp" – 4:30

10. "What a Day That Was" – 6:00

11. "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – 4:57

12. "Once in a Lifetime"  – 5:25

13. "Genius of Love" (performed by Tom Tom Club) – 4:30

14. "Girlfriend Is Better" – 5:06

15. "Take Me to the River" – 5:32

16. "Crosseyed and Painless" – 6:11

RESULTS

Rate: 6/10

Best Song: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)

Worst Song: Swamp

Comments

I've always loved the Talking Heads, and when I saw that they finally had an Album on here, I was more than excited to cover it.

This Album was pulled from their concert movie of the same name. It starts with David Byrne coming out alone in an absurdly large suit. He introduces a drum machine, and plays a solo version of Psycho Killer. Each song after, another band member comes out, and by "Burning Down the House", everyone has arrived.

It's a really cool premise, and even Robert Ebert rated the film quite highly. I only watched a brief bit of the film, but decided to stick to the Album, as I'm critiquing the music itself.

So why did I give it such a lukewarm review? Well, I've never been too hot on live Albums. Secondly, I felt this album in particular, while full of a really cool energy, just dragged on directionless. New Wave doesn't translate very well live, and I just ended up rather tired by the 16th track. They did a fantastic set-list, and it was really cool to see them pull out my favorite Tom Tom Club song, but in the end, I would've much rather have listened to a cleaned up studio version. Good, but a little disappointing.

#346: De La Soul - 3 Feet High Rising

De La Soul - 3 Feet High Rising

March 3, 1989, Tommy Boy

1."Intro" - 1:41

2."The Magic Number" - 3:16

3."Change in Speak" - 2:33

4."Cool Breeze on the Rocks" - 0:48

5."Can U Keep a Secret" - 1:41

6."Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)" - 3:25

7."Ghetto Thang" - 3:36

8."Transmitting Live from Mars" - 1:12

9."Eye Know" - 4:13

10."Take It Off" - 1:53

11."A Little Bit of Soap" - 0:57

12."Tread Water" - 3:46

13."Potholes in My Lawn" - 3:50

14."Say No Go" - 4:20

15."Do as De La Does" - 2:12

16."Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend)" - 4:07

17."De La Orgee" - 1:14

18."Buddy" (featuring Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip) - 4:55

19."Description" - 1:32

20."Me Myself and I" - 3:50

21."This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)" - 3:10

22."I Can Do Anything (Delacratic)" - 0:41

23."D.A.I.S.Y. Age" - 4:43

24."Plug Tunin'" (Original 12" version) - 3:43

RESULTS
Rate: 8.5
Best Song: Eye Know
Worst Song: De La Orgee

Results
So, I've decided to take a new stance on Skits in Albums. I''ve come to the conclusion that it's sort of a cop-out to place a skit as the "Worst Song", because quite frankly, they aren't songs.

This Album is known as the Album that actually started hip-hop skits. The Album;s theme revolves around a Game Show, and each artist coming in and answering the questions through the power of Rap, or whatever. Pretty dope.

It's a super vibey Album, and is reminiscent of walking down a New York Avenue on a Summer's day. Jazzy, boppy, and upbeat. I really enjoyed the first half of the Album, and keeping the upbeat theme was really pivotal for my tastes. However, I felt it slowly sunk and hit lower in the second half, though the content wasn't to bleak.

Overall, I'd have to say check it out. It's super fun, and really put in a cool perspective to De La Soul.

#347: Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
August 4, 1967, Tower

1."Astronomy Domine" - 4:17

2."Lucifer Sam"- 3:09
3."Matilda Mother"- 3:05
4."Flaming"- 2:46 
5."Pow R. Toc H." - 4:24 
6."Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" - 3:07 
7."Interstellar Overdrive" - 9:41 
8."The Gnome" - 2:14 
9."Chapter 24" - 3:53 
10."The Scarecrow"- 2:10 
11."Bike" - 3:21

RESULTS
Rate: 8/10
Best Song: Lucifer Sam
Worst Song: Interstellar Overdrive

Comments
Here's a Pink Floyd album that has completely flown under the radar. No idea it existed.

This album is a pretty straightforward introduction into Barrett's huge plunge into LSD. The psychedelic overtures of the Album are incredibly thick, and it appears as if there were two styles of songs: Songs that were either incredibly long and free-form, or short doo-wops about gnomes and bikes.

My personal favorite was the second track in, "Lucifer Sam". The opening guitar riff is just so pleasing to listen to, and it's a weird song about Syd's cat, so, yeah. Kind of hard to beat.

It seems everyone loves "Intersteller Overdrive", an almost 10 minute song that sounds like every generic psychedelic song on Earth. Everyone is just randomly playing their instruments off of each other, making this weird, awful jazzy sound, that simply does not appeal to me. I could make the same songs out of pots and pans.

Overall, I actually really enjoyed this Album. I think it fits right into the time period, and hits the right notes if some trippy , somewhat funny experience is what you're looking for, in terms of Pink Floyd.

Hiatus Update

Hey everyone,

The last few years I've been focused on other areas of my life, and I'm afraid, this blog has been left in the dust in terms of priorities.

In the time between my last post and now, I've grown up quite a bit, including graduating High School, attending University, and allowing that dirt-bag Tom Cruise to borrow my impressive yacht for the Summer, while I was away in Tahiti. However, not once has this personal project left my mind, and I've been itching to get back into it, and finish this puppy off once and for all.

Therefore, I'm happy to announce I will be returning to listen and review the infamous Rolling Stone "Greatest 500 Albums of All Time"!

Stay Tuned :)

-Jacob