The Rock Album Survivor Reviews Thread

[TechnicLePanther]

Originally Posted by JGuy Grungeman

This is likely going to be my most imaginitive review ever, because this album can put scenery and images in your mind like no other album can. The album is beautiful, mysterious, ghostly, imaginitive, like a secdond soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi. I am not high. I have never taken any of those drugs in my life. What I'm about to tell you is nothing but a story played in my mind, told from the conversion to imagery from music that is this album. This review tells of everything I saw in my imagnation while listening to this album.

This is a dialogueless album that's job is to use its krautrock and ambient instrumentals to create a new scenery.

Upon the first splash of the water, I had a strong feeling the album would casrry a very strong sense of serenity. When serenity is strong, that means it's extremely calming and relaxing. I think the spashing of water does a fantastic job at that I even felt my fingers type so slowly as my troubles washed away in the emenation of ambience from this album. Ghostly, but wonderful, as if a gospel were singing a tribute to a dead, great man, and the waters flowing from the fountain was singing with them.

Brian. Eno. Can. Suck it.

As the ambience ends after a wonderful five minutes, African drums bring the krautrock into this ambient treasure, shifting from the flowing waters of green field with mountains to an African dance of mystery. I have never heard an album that exercises the imagination as much as Popul Vuh's In den Gärten Pharaos. "I suppose the album could do more with complexity," I thought to myself. As I rthink that, the drums began picking up, more energetic than ever. I wondered what was in store as the instrumenrts played a ghostly tune to these bongos. A dance to the deceased. As we enter a softer, more poppy tune backed up by keyboards and the same soft ghostly winds of music, my mind enters a little playground area where children are playing on swings and slides... and wondering where the music of the African dance comes from as it echoes through the wind. As the keyboards became more ambient, I found myself looking at a purple night sky, shifting quickly from an orange sun to a purple moon, and then... back where I started. At a field with a little stream of water. And next to that water, was a tribal man playing on the bongos, playing for the dead who have now gone into the sky, as the fish in the water just splash, wondering who this man was, and then going on their way down the stream. This was all one track: "In den Gärten Pharaos."

After the track ended, I had to take a small break to soak in what I just heard. But I was so eager to find where the next track would take me!

The secopnd track began with an orchestra playing under a sky where all of space could be seen lighting up the band. As the image zoomed out, I saw the orchestra playing for ghosts, all captivated by the combination of music and space. Some carrages came and delivered coffins. Some of the audience had to leave to go back to the sky. As the drums came, I found myself in an African desert again, the sun brightening the tan sand, where a tribe had been playing for those who are alive. Both bands had stopped playing, as if they could feel each other's emotions.Slowly, the orchestra began playing again, with a wonder in their mind what the afterlife was like. As an ambient flute played, in space, a doorway opened. In this strange afterlife, ghosts had been playing in their own band of flutes and cymbals and their own vocals. Some of them played like pipers from an old Irish fairy tale. In his mind flew the images of fairies and cupids. As the cymbals drowned out most of the music, I saw a ghetto town, wherre there were people who either wished their lives were better or wished they were in heaven. A sad image. I saw a church in that town, where the same coffins from before were being put in. Many of the people in the ghetto surrounded the church, wondering what was going on. In the afterlife where the band played, some of the ghetto men had floated up there. The band welcomed the m to the afterlife. The ghetto men walked away from the band, still listening to them. I came back to the desert, shifting in between the desert and the ghetto man walking through the afterlife. It seemed to shift so fast that the two almost blended together. The messiness and noisiness of the cymbals represented the ghetto, and the bongo drums represented the African tribe. When they did blend, I saw African gods flying through space. It seemed as though they were familiar with the troubles of the two realms blending in one. This image lasted for a while. But the two realms eventually separated themselves. And the area in space that they occupied became nothing but space.

In Africa, I saw the orchestra playing to the living tribal children... songs for the dead. And joining them was the ghetto man. As the music picked up, I sawe the African musicians joining in. This lasted for a while. As the drums and cymbals stopped, all that was left was the African flute player, standing on a cliff, playing for the gods. And the gods listen. Eventually, a couple sing along with his flute from up in space. Eventually, they took him into space, and gave him some kind of blessing. The music faded. The image faded.

Sorry if this review confused you. This was the strange story that I imagined while playing this album. I've never heard an album that brought imagery so well. And for that, I think I'll give it the lead spot for krautrock.

Okay, so what album are we talking about here?

[Frownland]

Popol Vuh's In den Gärten Pharaos

[grindy]

Originally Posted by Frownland

Popol Vuh's In den Gärten Pharaos

Thänk you.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Boredoms - Pop Tatari

I'll keep it sweet and simple.

Unorganized episode of WTF Japan that tries to be Captain Beefheart. The guitar work was excellent at times, but that's all it really had for me. 65/100. Voting it off. I hope to get mjore into noise rock someday.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Big Black - Songs About ****ing.

I don't admire the noise rock sound as much as I'd like. So I never got into Sonic Youth or KEN Mode or anything. Dinosaur Jr. was my favorite noise rock band/. It might be Big Black now. I can greatly appreciate Big Black's well written sense of energy, truth to their noise rock and hardcore sounds, as well as great guitar work and rhythms.

Batlord told me it would be hard for a guy like me to get into bands like Boredoms and Big Black. Boredoms, yes. Big Black? No. Big Black is more my thing. Although their guitar techniques aren't as unique and creative as Boredoms, Boredoms did one thing right for me while Big Black does most things right. I mean, keep in mind. This is Steve Albini's band. Seriously. No man knows energy like him. No man knows fuzziness like him.

All in all, Big Black is my current top choice for noise rock. I really like this album, and I wish they did more than two studio albums. 95/100

[JGuy Grungeman]

Joe's Garage by Frank Zappa



Style: Experimental Rock, Comedy Rock, Rock Opera
Release: 1979 (for both albums), 1987 (comp)
Round: Rock Opera

I've already set it in my mind that Zappa's one of the mbest musiciansd ever. Hot Rats and Freak Out were nothing short of amazing. I've been deciding where to go next for Zappa for a while. I don't want to do "Only in It for the Money) spo that IO havern't heard all of his "absolute best works" first. That's usually decided to be his "number 3." Well, I remembered an album on the rock opera list, and here it is.

ACT I

It starts out as a simple rock tune, but it's made fantastic by a strange, whispered intro of this so-called rock opera. Eventually, it turned into a goofy and childish piece of Banjo-Kazooie style “energy,” but soon transcended back into its rock sound. This is The Central Scrutinizer." The title track comes next, and is a vaguely country-infused rock song of a man's at-home history. Next comes a more obnoxious tune about tiny little mustaches called “Catholic Girls.” Although it's not quite as good as the first two tracks, it carries just as much energy and guilty goofiness as any other Zappa track, due to intentionally weird vocals. “Crew Slut” is a song that sounds like it has actual meaning, recreating arena-style soft rock singles while carrying a very complicated and deep guitar throughout. An excellent example of Zappa's persona in the form of a song with a false sense of meaning. Still, I realize this recognizable bounciness does not come on as strong as Hot Rats and Freak Out did. It seems a little toned down, even if that means Zappa has more time to focus on excellent song construction.

As Side B of Disc one starts, I try to soak in this weird intro that I'm listening to, attempting to distinguish the message from the humor. And then... a disco song in the form of a rock song starts. It is called, “Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt.” At the title and sound alone, I theorize that it may be futile to find any form of meaning in a Zappa album, or at least to attempt to separate them. I then theorize that the humor is what carries the meaning, intentionally poorly hiding an anti-totalitarianism message behind comedic sex. “Here at the brasserie... home of the tits.” Yeah. They treat a strip joint as a game show in this track. After the game show ended, a guitar solo starts, with eccentricity to spare, but not as much quality as many other Zappa tunes. Afterwards, a prog style instrumental begins and fades the song out into another whispered piece of dialogue... and then, more xenochrony, which is one of Zappa's many talents/specialties. And next comes a somewhat more emotional song... “Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" This confirms my theory that any and all meaning is combined with humor when it comes to Zappa. This is as good as “Look at My Enormous Penis.” “Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up" has a more soul-jazz style, although it maintains the same excellence in quality as the rest of the albums, and may be one of the better songs. The guitar work is excellent, carrying a very slight reggae attitude. Soul-infused reggae rock. Really cool. Even if it drags on for a while, it's worth it. The disc ends with another piece of dialogue saying... “Hi, it's my again.” And some other stuff.

I take a break from this compilation to listen to “Look at My Enormous Penis.”

I think this release was one of Zappa's more imaginative and comedic releases. Even if it doesn't share Zappa's excess energy that he might not have gotten to release as a kind and releases through his music in the process, he still attempts to base his songs all around his persona with stunning success. I think this is definitely one of his most essential albums.

ACT II

Act Two begins the rest of the album, which makes up a whole studio album with Act III.

Act Two starts with “Token of My Extreme,” which picks up Act I's pace immediately afterwards, as if there was never two separate releases in the first place. However, the album seems noticeably different just judging from the first track, as if the album was going to focus more on diversity and construction than ever before. As far as comedic effect goes, it seems to lie within the compositions themselves. I'm still debating on whether this is a pro or a con. But I'm leaning towards con because it gives me the idea of a “sequel that reinvents the vibe,” As if the music itself was trying to be funny instead of the artist. At least it carries the same dialogue breaks as the first album, pretending to be a mysterious narrator but failing due to his 1970's lingo and attitude. That's what I like. The next song, “Stick It Out,” carries the aura of 60's surf rock, reinvented for the 70's. Of course, the lyrics are still occasionally hilarious. But seriously vulgar, probably Zappa's most vulgar song. I could be wrong, and I can only hope I am because I'd rather not have a Zappa album scar me in any way. :P “Sy Borg" is next, which lasts nine minutes. Cyborg carries obvious electronics (if Zappa has a song called Sy Borg, it's pretty obvious). What I didn't expect was the same R&B and reggae background as Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up." The song's alright, but nine minutes? I suppose it's good in the same way as “She's So Heavy” by The Beatles, being long and driven by fantastic instruments rather than lyrics. At least,t hat's how it started. It later sang its story as if everything must be said in song. It started to carry the same aura as “Take a Look,” what with all the talk about getting a blow job and the harmonized vocals.

All in all, I have no idea what the hell this story is about. It was about as confusing as Neon Genesis Evangelion (plus End of Evangelion, which I'm a big fan of). It got to the point where I didn't think I could take it anymore. Not because of the sexuality, but I can't really qualify this as a song due to its odd combination of story, music and comedy no matter how well it does its job on the album. So I was about to skip to the next track, but then the spoken word began. You know, “The Central Scrutinizer.” So there was no need to skip. Next track is “Dong Work for Yuda.” I actually will say more, despite no need to. It's surprisingly just as sexual and comedic, even if it doesn't combine them in a way that's just as intolerable. The band acts as though they were song kind of gospel, singing about dongs a lot. There's one for the history books. Next is “Keep It Greasy.” WWWWOOOOOWWWWWW. Driven by a faster pace, heavier rock music, and a lot of guitar work, it became apparent to me that the only point of this disc, and probably the whole album, was to talk about its enormous ego, as well as looking at its enormous penis. Thus, Zappa managed to create one of the most sexual things I've ever heard of. It makes me wonder if his junk was one of his favorite things? Because I'm sure his music came from his heart, not his burnt weenie sandwich.

[IMG]https://desolationofblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/twinkie.jpg[/IMG}

Well, the dis ends with “Outside Now,” which carries gospel style vocals through a somewhat darker (but not deeper) tone. It's driven by xenochrony, like many of the songs on the album. An alright ending to Act II.

Well, this was one of the most sexual things I've ever heard. I can only hope that the next half isn't like that because a rock opera against totalitarianism (as it's advertised) should be about more than the musical division of the sexual revolution Zappa considered himself a leading figure of.

ACT III

Well, now we get to an area of the story where apparently the gov'nent made music illegal, a very common theme in rock operas and musicals, including Footloose, 2112, and Dream Theater's The Astonishing. The guitar work is what drives this tune. It's extremely complex, and very progressive. An excellent example of the whole “programming your personality into a computer” metaphor. I refer to how Zappa implements himself into his music, and combining that with progressive influence and more and more xenochrony makes perfection. I'm greatly looking forward to the rest of this album. This act is comprised of 4 long tunes lasting 37 minutes in total. “Packard Goose” continues this tradition, and has an emotional sound and tempo similar to “Hold the Line” by Toto. That is, until the song gets all proggy and changes tempos and time signatures. After a long series of solos, the song ends in a very upbeat, sunshiney song about cosmic utensils. The next track is “Watermelon in Easter Hay," which Zappa and his son, Dweezil, had stated to be one of his best, and the best song on the album. The guitar solo is extremely bluesy, very beautiful, a great change in the tone of the album, representing the story's protagonists' desire for music. And finally, the album ends with "A Little Green Rosetta." Although just as goofy as you'd expect from a Zappa album, it starts out pretty nice and soft. Zappa's ability to implement hilarity into music knows no bounds. It's like a doo-wop song in the form of a psychedelic prog song.


Now, the first album was utterly fantastic. The second one was almost fantastic, but not quite. I definitely think the albums are a couple of Frank Zappa's best. As I've mentioned before, the energy is not as abundant as other Zappa albums. But it's made up for in goofiness and excellent construction.


However, I couldn't tell what was going on in the story most of the time (which isn't a good thing for an album that tells a story), and this so-called rock opera just seemed like an excuse to talk about the junk. In fact, I feel “The Astonishing” is a better representation of the rock opera practice because it's story was easier to follow. And The Astonishing is by far a worse one. So I will vote it off because I didn't get the rock opera vibe at all. I don't disagree with the tag, but I'd rather take a look at a story than take a look at an enormous penis. Plus, the fact that the album is two albums in one release is something to consider. I won't vote for two albums in one slot. I don't listen to compilations if it's mostly previously released material. I listened to this one because I never heard the albums. I know I'm being quite picky, but I think if any one album deserves the spot, it would be either Ziggy or the Wall (unless Bat actually gets pretty high). Besides, I find The Wall, Quadrophenia, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and Bat Out of Hell to be better albums. Plus, I still need to listen to the rest of them on the list.

97 for the first album. 94 for the second.

[JGuy Grungeman]

American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

Release: 1970
Style: Coutnry Rock, Blues Rock
Length: 42 min.
Round: Country Rock

It doesn't take a deadhead to recognize the perfection in a Grateful Dead album. The notable one is American Beauty, the one with the same name as that movie. Even though they are more of a live band, Grateful Dead had put everything about country's heart and soul into a rock album.

Amazing acoustic guitar rhythms, like on Box of Rain and Friend of the Devil, show off a wide array of emotion, notably the sadness of the blues influence that GD are not afraid to show off (such as in Truckin'). And then we have some really sweet, soothing electric guitar riffs, like on Candyman. But I suppose what really sets this album apart from most country rock albums is the vocals. Well harmonized and beautiful, the vocals are what really drive the great riffs. Their usage of vocals is on par with CSNY, even if the vocals aren't as good.

This is really come from a first time experience with a large dose of Grateful Dead. It's a perfect country rock album that's about as good as CSN or CSNY's best works.

100/100. Going to keep it on no. 1 if nothing on the list impresses me more.

P.S. And if anyone brings up religion, I don't think Friend of the Devil is about satanism of any kind.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Meat Puppets II



I am a bit of a punk fan, and I grew up with country and country rock. So it's needless to say I was actually lookinfg forward to it. Every time I think about this album, Kurt Cobain's love of the album comes to mind. I wondered if I would share the same love.

I didn't really. I liked the album enough, being a mix of country and punk. I'm always up for thwe idea of taking two genres and turning it into something else. Country andf Punk are like polar opposites. Country's more mellow and the majority of it is based on calmer and/or deeper emotion, while punk's main form is usually raw and energetic, built upon chaotic emotion. Putting a little bit of both in these creates a distinct emotion, somewhat balanced between the two, like a war between love for the nostalgia of home and anger at the rest of the world. Meat Puppets can pull it off. Yet, I have yet to find a cowpunk album I love. Meat Puppets II definitely has some of the heart of country and some of the heart of punk. However, their musical prowess cannot be compared to early Violent Femmes, who are clearly more talented in the cowpunk/folk punk realms. Meat Puppets can write good instrumentals and fun songs, but Violent Femmes just writes better songs.

Overall, I do recommend Meat Puppets II for something a little unique to the punk fans' palette or the country rock fan's palette. I think it's a good enough album to put in an essential punk albums list, and maybe an essential albums list due to its loyalty to the country and punk genres.

85/100.

[JGuy Grungeman]

At Action Park by Shellac

Release: 1994
Style: Math Rock, Post-Hardcore
Length: 37 min.
Round: Math Rock

Math rock is not a genre to me. To me, it's a style of playing, not a style of music. So, what is math rock? It's an attempt at implementing a complex sound led by drums into any sound you want. Math rock is usally combined with punk genres, such as post-hardcore. As a result, we have albums like At Action Park by Shellac.

This is the first Shellac album I've heard, so I won't bother comparing it to other Shellac albums. However, I can easly compare this to other math rock albums. The tempos are rarely improvised and unconventional, mostly playing at a 4/4 time. This gives rthe album a more enjoyable and more relatable feel for those are are more used to 4/4, the most common time signature. But that does not stop the great Todd Trainer from doing andf drumming whatever the hell he wants. As far as math rock goes, Todd Trainer's drumming is some of the best, leading the noisy post-hardcore sound in a stimulating parade of creative and catchy structures. That was the one thing that really got me about the album: the drumming. Although I felt nothing could compare to the drumming on that album, it also surprised me that the other aspects failed to be overshadowed. In other words, the drumming didn't just lead the album. It improved the rest of the band's playing in its own creative way.

Not perfect, but certainly not passible, At Action Park is a fine example of math rock, and a great album to start getting into it. It may not be the best place to start with post-hardcore, but it's certainly enjoyable down to the last second. I'm not sure where this album will be when I vote it off (if I do), but it'll be high up there.

90/100.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Dopes to Infinity by Monster Magnet



I actually played some Monster Magnet for the stoner rock round on the Big Four Bands Thread, hoping to hear enough stoner rock to nfinally construct my own personal big four. But this was on the space rock list for the RAS, so why npot? Space Rock is something I've been wanting to get into anyway. I had already heard Spine of God, which was a really cool album. But I'm very uneducated in the realm of space rock. Before Monster Magnet, I had only heard the first two Pink Floyd albums. That was all the space rock I knew. I've barely heard any. Even so, I can say this is an underappreciated release. I honestly think they are as good of a band as Motorhead.

Dopes to Infinity is widely known by Monster Magnet fans as their best album, and for very good reason. Dopes to Infinity improves on everything Spine of God, their debut, had to offer. The psychedelic atmosphere of the space rock influence, the ultra-heterosexual (sig that, pls) and badass riffs of stoner rock, and the overall influence and diversity altogether were vastly improved. Throughout the album, I could sense the odd, paychedelic influence coming from songs like Dead Christmas, light similarities akin to 1980's Soundgarden, and a very cool combination of delicate, calming atmosphere and hard and heavy riffs. Altogether, it was badass down to the bone.

Just from these two albums, I feel that Monster Magnet is almost right up there with Queens of the Stone Age. Almost. I know that, thanks to Dopes to Infinity, I now have another favorite band and I'm eager to try all of their albums. Dopes to Infinity is fun in all the best hard rock ways.

95/100. No idea how soon it will get voted off, but it's a great album. SO it's likely it'll stay for a while.