The Rock Album Survivor Reviews Thread

[JGuy Grungeman]

I've heard this album once before, and I immediately loved it (possibly because I'm seriously big on 60's and 70's rock). This album perfectly represents the spirit of the 60's and everything the 60's stood for. It was also a huge influence on the Summer of Love that would come the year after. It's satirical, yet very stoned at the same time. This, along with the 60's representation, created a special brand of experimentation that made this the first “experimental” album I ever really liked.

Songs like “Hungry Freaks” and “I Ain't Got No Heart” are full of heart, both being fantastic openers for a fantastic album. The album then takes a Lewis Carroll style turn for the better on the album (but maybe a worse on the brainwaves). And it's not White Rabbit. It's a very loud, mentally messed up piece of random horns that work perfectly. And then we get to this little doo-wop song, “Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder.” What the hell, Frank? You turn from a heavily experimental and somewhat disturbing trumpet powered drug-fest, and\ then you do one of the best doo-wop songs since the doo-wop fad ended? I think the ever shifting pace and uneven flow are not flaws at all, but help empower the satire. “Motherly Love,” like the first song, is a primary example of 60's rock, notably a pop/garage blend, but continues the whole ideal of out-of-place/humourous kazoos up the great wazoo. In fact, when the kazoo wasn't used, that felt out of place as well. Motherly Love is just another great song that surprises you. “How Could I Be Such a Fool” is a slight, poppy psychedelic love song that is slower than the rest of the beginning, but is still a sweet listen. “Wowie Zowie” is next, and I'm thinking about Super Mario World throughout the whole thing thanks to it's excessively cheery vibe. Actually, I would LOVE IT IF FRANK ZAPPA DID THE SOUNDTRACK TO A MARIO GAME OR SIX. And I love the “Sherri” reference at the end of the song!

“You Didn't Try to Call Me” is a very estranged song, but it's not as experimental as the previous songs. It still retains a strange, comedic aura, one that helped me realize what the flow of the album is: It's unconventionality. If any two songs sounded similar, the aura of the album would fall apart.



“Anyway the Wind Blows” is reminiscent of bands like The Byrds, carrying a slight folk feel but retaining that same obnoxious Zappa charm that only his horns and kazoos can give you. “I'm Not Satisfied” is a much rougher track. The vocal compositions need to work on catchiness, but overall, the music is fine. Plus, “Yeeeaaahhh.”



“You're probably wondering why “You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here” was written. Well, I think it was to bring back the kazoos, and the “Yeah.” I think it was built a little too much on previous tracks, and was a bit similar to the last track. Like I said, two similar consecutive tracks would disrupt the aura, and it did. It's a good song, but the feeling of the song has been done before on the album, and by then it felt tiring.

Now we're onto the second half. We begin the second disc, C-side, with a long song, “Trouble Every Day.” It takes no time to build itself up and instead begins a very upbeat, really cool tune with a slow, ambient, badass harmonica. I'd easily take six minutes of this! Now we get to a long suite of 8 minutes. This suite is strangely called “Help I'm a Rock.” It starts out with an estranged, almost Indian style guitar riff that keeps repeating itself, never to a tiring extent. Next we get a collage of wacko vocal sounds all backed up by slight piano stokes and a new bass riff. We go through a couple minutes of this enjoyable, yet deranged sound; after that will then be another estranged sound. Whereas the first movement was oddly named “Okay to Tap Dance,” this movement is called “In Memoriam, Edgard Varèse.” It's about breathing women, clapping, and a strange imitation of a mix between a monkey and a parrot. “It can't happen here is a lot of soulless singing, which also adds to the satire, and very little “music,” as well as kinky scatting.

And finally, a short conversation about Suzy Creamcheese starts ""The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet." This song carries a sci-fi style rhythm into a horribly named track (I don't think I want to say it) that is more drugged up than the rest of the album, and it gets more drugged up throughout. It's all strange one-note chanting, heavy cymbals, and a couple of radio sounds. And yet, this not only adds to the satirical flow, it creates an artistic collage of sounds that are so good it's mind-boggling. This goes on for a long time, but it never gets tiring. Eventually it gets into a tribal-style sound which is like a musical zoo, where instruments mimic zoo creatures. This is short, and it gets into a strange romantic sounding conversation in Spanish. Is this all just a sorry excuse for music, or an artistic look on the free experimentation of music and a compliment to how comedic one can make it? The latter.

Overall, Frank Zappa's debut is satirical, out-of-place in grand ways, diverse, and lovable because of those traits. The strange traits are created by the influence taken from avant-garde, blues rock, pop, doo-wop, psychedelic rock, rock and roll, garage rock, and R&B. It's both an album that radio-players would love, and one that is so experimental they'd probably stay away from it. But that's part of the reason why it's so comedic. Not only may one find entertainment in the most unexpected places in this album, it's the best experimental album in my opinion, and one of the greatest albums and prime examples of the 60's music scenes. 100. Perfect.

Likely this will be my number 1, but my prediction for the winner is Kid A.

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by JGuy Grungeman

Rain Dogs by Tom Waits



Style: Experimental Rock
Release: 1985
Length: 52 minutes.
Round: Blues Rock

I was never an experimental rock guy, let alone a Tom Waits guy. I'm into blues, but I don't think this album reaches the same blues vibe as other greats like Are You Experienced or Exile on Main Street or Led Zeppelin I. Still, I found it to be perfect as an experimental album. The conventional structures are relatable and familiar, while the sounds themselves are unconventional and highly experimented on. Neither get in the way of each other, creating an equilibrium. All I have to say.

Rating: 100. But gonna vote it off quickly because I feel Led Zeppelin I, Are You Experienced, Disraeli Gears, and Exile are far more deserving of the number one position.

I love Rain Dogs, but I agree that everything but Exile would be a great winner for that battle (there are still other albums you can vote off, too).

[The Batlord]

Originally Posted by JGuy Grungeman

Rain Dogs by Tom Waits



Style: Experimental Rock
Release: 1985
Length: 52 minutes.
Round: Blues Rock

I was never an experimental rock guy, let alone a Tom Waits guy. I'm into blues, but I don't think this album reaches the same blues vibe as other greats like Are You Experienced or Exile on Main Street or Led Zeppelin I. Still, I found it to be perfect as an experimental album. The conventional structures are relatable and familiar, while the sounds themselves are unconventional and highly experimented on. Neither get in the way of each other, creating an equilibrium. All I have to say.

Rating: 100. But gonna vote it off quickly because I feel Led Zeppelin I, Are You Experienced, Disraeli Gears, and Exile are far more deserving of the number one position.

Because they're better or because they're more blues rock?

[JGuy Grungeman]

Yeah, but Rain Dogs wo't get my number 1. I love blues rock, so a lot of these albums would get a perfect rating. Besides, I find most of the albums more "bluesy."

[Frownland]

Tom Waits wouldn't be considered experimental blues if he didn't experiment with the blues sound and in turn sound different from other blues artists. Just sayin.

[JGuy Grungeman]

The fact remains that he did. Anyway, listening to Hot Rats by Frank Zappa, my second Zappa album.



Style: Jazz-Fusion/Jazz-Rock
Release: 1969
Length: 43 min.
Round: Jazz Fusion

I'm a little into jazz, but I cannot say jazz fusion is my where my experience lies. Having said that, I am very satisfied with Hot Rats sound because it greatly manages to retain the same obnoxious charm that Freak Out radiated, with the difference of being a full on jazz-rock album. Thanks to his obnoxiousness, Zappa's Hot Rats has as much grip and creativity as any of the greatest rock or jazz albums becuase there's one thing Zappa does better than everyone else: have fun with it. He doesn't let that get in the way of his creativity, and thus we have a kind of fun that can be shared with the world. Complex yet bouncy, gripping in the most enjoyable way, I think Hot Rats will be one of the higher ups in the jazz fusion round, if it's not number 1.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters

Style: Jazz-Fusion, Jazz-Funk
Release: 1973
Length: 41 min.
Round: Jazz-Fusion

Recently, the jazz-rock list has been deleted in favor of the jazz-fusion list, when both were on. I think this is a bad decision. Jazz-Rock and jazz-fusion are very different, and Head Hunters is serious proof of that.

What is the difference between jazz-fusion and jazz-rock? Besides jazz influence: everything. Take the first track "Chameleon." It starts out with a bass riff that sounds EXACTLY like something from a soul-funk album. Jazz-Fusion has some influence from R&B styles like soul and funk. Jazz-rock mostly does not. Another thing to pay attention to is the song structure. The structure of jazz-fusion songs leans more towards common jazz structures, being highly instrumental. Jazz-Rock groups are ROCK BANDS. And as a result, they play rock songs with jazz instruments; usually they will have lead singers. Sure, some may not have that structure. But even Zappa's jazz rock albums have a lead singer. Basically, the differences are how much jazz influence appears in the structure of the song, and how much traditional influence (rock, pop, soul, funk, maybe folk) the jazz-fusion albums have. Even though folk may be a rare influence, it's still more traditional than a simple rock album with jazz instruments. In fact, if anything the jazz-fusion list would be the rightfully deleted one since the "rock" aspect may or may not appear.

Having said that, now I can start my actual review of the album. I think the funk aspect did an exquisitely grand job of complimenting the jazz aspects, especially during "Chameleon." "Watermelon Man" (I'm gonna say I actually love that name) starts with a very cool, eccentric beer bottle solo, takes James Brown and Sly Stone influence in a grand rerecording of his song from previous albums. "Sly's more energetic pace, backed up by sweet congas makes for a very unique track on the album, clocking in at ten minutes of hyperactive awesomeness with some slight avant-garde influence. The last track is a strange ending. "Vein Meiter" starts with marching drumming while the rest maintains a smooth essence completely contradictory to the rest of the album. And yet, the soothingness makes for a wonderful track, almost like a break from the album's energy. Perfect if you ask me, a lot of energy, and then rest. I seriously did NOT want it to end.

Overall, I think Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters is an excellent example of what Jazz should be.

100. It'll be a shame to vote it off because my jazz-rock vote's likely going to be Hot Rats.

[Silhouette]

Loving this journal, you have great taste (which means we have similar tastes of course). Nice write ups, gave me some new things to listen too.

And Hey Bo Diddley!

Also, seeing that you like the Queens of the Stone Age, did you ever give Mark Lanegans solo stuff a go? I think its great, and actually prefer it.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Thanks for the kind input! No. I haven't heard Lamegan's solo works. I might at sometime.

[JGuy Grungeman]

Hallowed Ground by Violent Femmes



Style: Cowpunk, Folk Punk
Release: June 1984
Length: 39 min.
Round: Folk Punk

I've already heard their debut and their most recent one. With this inclusion of cowpunk in the mix (country punk), Hallowed Ground sounds like their most effective and engaging album, and it's a reminder of how much of a shame it is that this was their last great album: their second one.

Upon the first note, I noticed the cowpunk inclusion and how smart it was to bring country into the folk punk sound. Violent Femmes knew they could do it. “Country Death Song” is the opener, and it should be titled “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” because it's such an energetic song wt seriously depressing lyrics. The next song, I Hear the Rain,” has a more punk based rhythm but seems to have just as much meaning without the emotion, possibly being a better song. “Never Tell”: is one of the coolest sounding songs on the album, letting the music be dark and engaging while the singer repeats the same lines with real meaning. They end up shouting pointlessly, but it seems as if that pointlessness also carries a lot of hidden anger. Plus, the song ends with a pretty cool, faster-paced solo. “Jesus Walking on the Water” has the essence of a great country song. “I Know It's True But I'm Sorry to Say “ feels like a sad song, but the vocal compositions need some work. “Hallowed Ground” is lead by a piano riff backed up by a quiet guitar riff and a loud bass. Again, the vocal compositions need work. ”Sweet Misery Blues” sounds like the Beatles decided to go country blues and write a good song. “Black Girls” is a more hyper song, one where Violent Femmes. I really like the instrumental at the end, but what's with the horns?

[YOUTUBE]mr-Bl9Q5U10[?YOUTUBE]

“Finally comes the song, “It's Gonna Rain.” Now, they have a really good album here. And It's Gonna Rain is pretty good. But I don't think it's a proper ending to a great album, despite the overall cheery essence.

I think this album is very well worth it. Second best Violent Femmes album, you know it. Second best folk punk album? Maybe not.

87/100. Might vote it off, might not. I think this is the first of the chosen folk punk albums I've heard.