Urban Hat€monger ?

I change my favourite Bowie album more often than I change my underwear.

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The Batlord

So about once a month?

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Trollheart

Title: Low
Artiste: David Bowie
Year: 1977
Chronological position: Eleventh album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Ziggy Stardust, Diamond Dogs, Never let me down, Heathen, The next day plus of course the greatest hits packages
Why is this considered a classic? Believed to have influenced the art-rock/new-wave movements and also the first of the "Berlin trilogy", which seems to have characterised Bowie's struggle to kick cocaine. Also heavily influenced by and featuring Brian Eno.

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Good
One track in --- Good
Halfway through --- Great
Finished --- Great (and that's only because I've restricted myself and kept "Great" as the highest praise I can give here. But it's miles better than just Great...)

Comments: Just shows what a dickhead you can be in your youth. "Bloody hell!" thought 16-year-old Trollheart. "This is nothing like Ziggy or Diamond Dogs! Man, it's boring!" If only I could invent a time machine and travel back to 1979 and kick my own arse! What a classic and I completely underestimated and misunderstood it. The instrumental songs are almost better than the vocal ones, and there's nothing here I don't like, bar the first three which somehow I think I'll end up getting to like. What an album! No wonder it's considered a classic.

Favourite track(s): Almost everything after What in the world (Of course, I, like the rest of the Known World, knew Sound and vision
Least favourite track(s): At the moment, not crazy about the opening three tracks, but that will probably change. Also, the version I have has three extra tracks. They're great, but the remix of Sound and vision which closes the album I find totally unnecessary, and not that different to the original, certainly not enough to justify its inclusion here.

Final impression --- Total classic and I'm glad I finally got to appreciate it, even if it did take over thirty years! The collaborations with Eno really work here; did he stay working with him later on? The man has a real way of painting an atmosphere for an album.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see

Very much A, with a qualification of "properly before" (In other words, wish I had listened to it properly before).

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Urban Hat€monger ?

Now listen to Lodger

I'm convinced I'm the only person in the world that likes that album

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Trollheart

Title: Dare!
Artiste: The Human League
Year: 1981
Chronological position: Third album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Apart from the singles and greatest hits, nothing.
Why is this considered a classic? According to my good friend Wiki, this was where Phil Oakey changed the direction of the band from art-rock and experimental to a basic pop band, ensuring big hits for them. But more importantly this album had an influence on just about every aspect of pop, new wave, avant-garde and other music. They call it a "genre-defining" album, and you can certainly hear Human League's influence on many many pop bands down the eighties and nineties, and further.

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Good
One track in --- Great
Halfway through --- Great
Finished --- Great

Comments: Is this Tubeway Army or Kraftwerk? Well once our Phil starts to sing, the question is answered: it's neither, it's Human League. Just a blip there at the start. I don't know the opening track but I really like it, which says something considering I know much of this album, as would anyone who's been subjected to the charts and radio airplay around this time. Always liked Open your heart though. Have to say gets a little tedious with I am the law (come on! Everybody knows DREDD is the Law!) but ah, then comes Seconds and we're on a pleasant ride to the end of the album. Love-lah!

Favourite track(s): Of those I didn't already know? Seconds, Darkness, Do or die and That's what dreams are made of.
Least favourite track(s): Get Carter, I am the Law

Final impression --- Great synthpop album, certainly deserves its place as a classic. Even given the obvious hit singles I knew, some great tracks here.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see

Again, A is for Ah why didn't I listen to this years ago?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Title: That's the way of the world
Artiste: Earth, Wind and Fire
Year: 1975
Chronological position: Sixth album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Nothing other than the singles
Why is this considered a classic? I really have to admit I have no idea. It has a number one hit on it yes, but none of the EWF songs I heard when I was growing up, like those detailed below in the comments. It's an okay album but I don't find anything classic about it personally.

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Meh
One track in --- Meh but then....
Halfway through --- Good
Finished --- Good

Comments: First thing I'm surprised to see, looking down the tracklist is that there are none of the big hits on this. Sure, Shinin' star was a hit, but I'm talking After the love has gone, September, Boogie wonderland ... you know, the BIG hits! Still, after a so-so beginning we settle down with a lovely slow soul smoocher in the title track, and I'm right back in the seventies, accidentally listening to Tony Prince on Radio Luxembourg after the rock show has ended, and thinking hey this ain't bad. Mind you, once Sylvester or the Jackson Five come on, I'm out of here! But this is nice.

I like the super-tight vocal harmonies, one of the things EWF were known for, and the musicianship can't be faulted. Big band: nine members! So really they should sound like a wall of sound. And they do, but not in an overbearing way. This music just kind of washes over you and, well, makes love to you, ya know? It's Barry White but without the deep voice. I also like the alternating vocal styles, with altos and basses and baritones all in the mix. Hmm, only eight tracks? This will be easy to get through. All about love is a great soul ballad in the style of Luther, or maybe I should say he sings in the style of EWF? Anyway, it's damn good. Some pretty bad seventies jargon at the end of it though! Oh and hold on: the ending is just terrible, with some sort of looped piano run or something going out of phase. Oh my ears! Almost ruined the song.

Africano is nice, different, very ethnic and I like the flute and kalimba (I think that's what it is) but then it goes into some funky jam like you'd get in one of those old seventies cop shows, and it just sort of sounds silly. Almost a parody really. Maybe it's the guys laughing at themselves, not sure. Bit too jazzy for my tastes too. Sort of goes downhill from there and I lose interest mostly. After a promising beginning a disappointing ending.

Favourite track(s): That's the way of the world, Happy feelin', All about love
Least favourite track(s): Probably Shinin' star and I don't like the way Africano develops. Not mad about Yearnin', learnin' either...

Final impression --- A good disco/soul record but not something I believe I could not have lived without. It's okay but that's about it.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?

Added in an extra category for this as I really don't feel any of the original four apply.
So it's obviously an E here. And I'm quite surprised, as this isn't Chic, Sister Sledge or any of a hundred other generic dance/soul artistes I have no interest in. I actually quite like Earth, Wind and Fire, but I'm very disappointed with this album. Well, not disappointed, but not singularly impressed, that's for sure.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Urban Hat€monger ?

Chic generic?

I'm not having that. Nile Rodgers is a genius.

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Powerstars

Hm...My brother has this album, and I'm kinda interested in hearing it now. Also, going out to look for crap at the mall today, so I might pick up The Next Day...I really like Bowie.

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Trollheart

Yeah well I find little interesting in any dance band to be honest. It's maybe not fair to say generic, but to be totally musically racist, it all sounds the same to me....

The Next Day is a great album. You'll enjoy it I would think. Definitely give Low a shot; pretty mindblowing I found.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Just an update on what I've listened to and reviewed so far. I'll update the update, as it were, as I go along. Albums in RED have been reviewed, albums in GREEN have been listened to but not yet reviewed, or reviewed but not submitted for posting yet. Albums in PINK have been added since the original list was compiled.

The White Stripes --- Elephant
ZZ Top --- Tres hombres
Lynyrd Skynyrd --- Pronounced...
RHCP --- Californication
David Bowie --- Low
Massive Attack --- Mezzanine
PIL --- Metal box
Peter Tosh --- Wanted dread or alive
Captain Beefheart --- Trout Mask replica
Earth Wind and Fire --- That's the way of the world
Janet Jackson --- Rhythm nation 1814
The Clash --- London calling
Yes --- Close to the edge
Slayer --- Reign in blood
Moby --- Play
Pink Floyd --- Animals (Note 2)
The Smiths --- The queen is dead
REM --- Automatic for the people
U2 --- The Joshua Tree
My Bloody Valentine --- Loveless
AC/DC --- Back in black
Neil Young --- After the gold rush
Paul Simon --- Graceland (Note 3)
Stevie Wonder --- Songs in the key of life
Simon and Garfunkel --- Bridge over troubled water
Bob Marley --- Legend (Note 4)
Nirvana --- Nevermind
Bob Dylan --- Blood on the tracks
Michael Jackson --- Thriller
Metallica --- Master of puppets
Human League --- Dare!
ELP --- Tarkus (Note 5)
ABC --- The lexicon of love
Kate Bush --- The hounds of love
Waterboys --- Fisherman's blues
Terence Trent D'Arby --- Introducing the hardline according to...
Pulp --- Different class
Judas Priest --- British Steel
The Jesus and Mary Chain --- Psychocandy
Funkadelic --- Maggot brain
Faith No More --- Angel dust
Slowdive --- Souvlaki
Sisters of Mercy --- Floodlands
Talking Heads --- Remain in Light
Arcade Fire --- Funeral
Neutral Milk Hotel --- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Sonic Youth --- Daydream Nation
Wilco --- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Thanks to all who suggested albums. Keep 'em coming!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018