L.A. Woman
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

The last official Doors studio album, L.A. Woman was still high on the charts when, like the "actor out on loan" of its closing track, "Riders on the Storm," Jim Morrison died in a Paris bathtub in the summer of 1971. Via such tracks as "The Changeling," "Crawling King Snake," and the frothy, rollicking title track, the collection leaned heavily toward the blues--in particular, Morrison's boastful "Lizard King" brand of it. It also holds another entry in the band's ever-adventurous tone poems in the ever-underrated mythical tale of American music and culture, "WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)." --Billy Altman ... Read more

Reviews (123)

The Doors Take to the Studio One Last Time...
And it works. Very well. This is the ultimate finisher of the legacy that the Doors left us. Love Her Madly, Riders on the Storm, the title track, and WASP are all essential cuts to any Doors collection. This is probably my favorite album out of them all, save Strange Days and their self-titled debut. Wow. This album's damn good.

Swans and a live bass player
The Doors burst onto the LA rock scene, and a few years later, they were releasing their final contractual album, and their 27-year-old singer sounded lika a gravel-voiced bluesman, looking less svelte than the young lion of only a few years earlier.

Images and myth aside, this album might be their strongest, excepting the legendary debut.The focus was a more raw rock and blue records, a followup from the 'return' that Morrison Hotel signaled after the strings and horns, trials, and internal fighting.

Working with Elvis' old bass player, the band recorded a lot of the album 'live', right there in the Doors' studios with the bathroom serving as a vocal booth.

The Changling is a relatively upbeat number complete with solid bass and some neat tempo changes.And from the beginning, you can tell the gruff difference in Morrison's voice.Years of abuse made him sound a whole heck of a lot older than 27 years.While he wasn't an expertly trained singer from the beginning, his voice was, and still is, immediately recognizable and warm.But the sound suits most every song here.

There are some real bluesy numbers, such as Cars Hiss By My Window, or Hyacinth House, which is a somber tune with a bluesy feel.Crawling King Snake, a live staple for years, finally made its way to an album, as did Texas Radio, various versions of which had appeared live for years.The standout track might be the great LA Woman, one of the briskest, coolest 7-minute rock classics ever.Jimbo's passion for the city and all it meant to him are summed up in the dark but driving tune that includes his shout-out to Mr Mojo Risin, his own name mixed around.It all closes with the great Riders on the Storm, the track that convinced Paul Rothchild not to produce and to let The Doors run the production and making on their own (with engineer Bruce Botnick).Complete with the rain and thunder, it's a spooky but playful track that is still a radio staple.

Not really a weak spot on here, unless you don't care for the slower, very bluesy tracks like Cars Hiss, or Crawling King Snake, or even the driving, gruff-sounding Down So Long.Hard to match up the Morrison on here and on the debut.

Most Doors albums had filler, there's no doubt, but this might have the least, and it's also the longest Doors LP they ever put out.By the time it appeared in record stores, Jimbo was in Paris where he'd eventually fade away, creating another legend and joining rock's '27' club.

If you don't own any Doors material, this is even a good start.While the band has a plethora of compilations, the albums are all rewarding, and they sound great remastered.

The Doors finest album
The Doors final album with Jim Morrison (they would go on to record two more albums as a trio), remains their masterpiece and belongs in every rock collection. From start to finish, the album is brilliant. It was the Doors at their absolute best. The Doors previous albums ranged from very good to classic, but their sixth album "L.A. Woman" was their crown jewel.

It's common for most bands to start out playing the blues and then evolve into a musical style/idenity all their own. In this sense, the Doors sort of evolved backwards. They started out playing crazy, psychedelic music, and then ended their career playing the blues.

"L.A. Woman" is a very bluesy album. It's not pure blues (B.B. King, Ledbelly), but it's rock tinged with blues. The band never sounded better. To be sure, the Doors albums were always terrific, but they sounded most at home with the blues. Playing blues rock brought out the best in all the Doors members. Ray Manzarek (organ) and Robby Krieger's (guitar) solos worked perfectly against a blues backdrop. Drummer John Densmore's jazzy style was also well suited for the blues.

As for Jim Morrison...I think the Jim Morrison of 1967 was best suited to sing psychedelic acid rock. His ultra-cool swagger and showmanship was the ultimate voice for such music. But the Jim Morrison of 1971 was a much different person. In four years, Morrison aged a lifetime. In 1967, he sounded and looked 23. In 1971, he looked and sounded like an old man. It's hard to believe that the same voice that sang "Light My Fire" sang "Riders on the Storm" only four years later. On "L.A. Woman," Morrison sounds worn and tired, but it matched the bluesy-jazzy downbeat music perfectly. Morrison's finest poetry was also in this swan song. Noting too obscure or bizarre to be found. It was his most honest, straightforward work.

"L.A. Woman" is simply The Doors finest collection of songs. There is no filler to be found. Each song is a jewel on The Doors crown creation. From the opening "The Changeling," to the closing "Riders on the Storm," every song is great. Whether is be the hard rocking "Love Her Madly," the downbeat "Cars His By My Window," the bohemian "The Wasp" or the sublime "Riders on the Storm," every song is a masterpiece.

The general theme of the album seems to be the underbelly of L.A. in the early 70s. The album seems to function as a snapshot/soundtrack of that time and place. It's all about living day-to-day, strung-out, alone, not knowing when it will all end. In that sense, I take "LA Woman" to be sort of like a diary in the lives of Jim and (his wife) Pam. When you listen to this album, you can feel the longing, the desperation, the torment, the addictions, of that time and place. These songs sound lived in. When you listen to Morrison's screams in the title track, or soft-spoken baritone in "Cars Hiss By My Window" you get the sense that he knew it was going to end soon. "Riders on the Strom" seems to acknowledge and accept this fate.

The Doors "L.A. Woman" is one of the greatest albums of all-time and it is an album that every rock fan should own.
... Read more

Asin: B000002I2M
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Pearl (Exp)
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (31 August, 1999)
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Editorial Review

Janis Joplin made the blues her own. Though she didn't live to finish this album before her 1970 death from a heroin overdose, her intense passion and frantic cries of pain and ecstasy were enough to make Pearl one of the most memorable recordings of her era. Her band does fill up some vinyl with the instrumental "Buried Alive in the Blues," but it's the vocals that make this album worth hearing these many decades later. Listen to the tortured heartbreak of "Cry Baby" or the hopeful declarations of Kris Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee" and understand why Joplin remains an essential, if tragic, figure in pop. This reissue of Joplin's final album includes four live bonus tracks recorded during the 1970 Canadian Festival Express Tour. --Steve Appleford ... Read more

Features

• Extra tracks

Reviews (21)

Great music
Before the album was completed, she died of a drug overdose in 1970 when she was twenty seven. This was her First Number One album. "Get it while you can" is a Beautifull song. Recomended.

Great, But What If?
Janis Joplin's PEARL is a great solo album that makes you wonder if it might have been even better if she had been able to finish all of her vocals before she died. The two best songs are "Move Over" and "Me And Bobby McGee", but there's plenty of other good stuff here, too. Get PEARL and CHEAP THRILLS together if possible.

timeless
the word "classic",in my opinion ,has been way over used in describing noted records.but if there ever was one,this is it!Janis' best and one of rock n'rolls best.the right songs,the right band and janis.timeless.full tilt boogie really took these songs where the (pretty lousy) big brother never could have.if janis had lived,the sky would've been the limit.her heart and soul in every song.a truly great work. ... Read more

Asin: B00000K2VZ
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

First Rays of the New Rising Sun
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (22 April, 1997)
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Editorial Review

The guy was damn ingenious with a guitar, but not half as industrious as the folks who've packaged and repackaged his posthumous material. First Rays of the New Rising Sun, however, is an attractive assortment of "spiritual, very earthy" late recordings that surfaced in the '70s via The Cry of Love, Crash Landing, Rainbow Bridge, and War Heroes. Hendrix appeared to be in transition between flamboyant showman and serious musician personas at the time (meaning his work, had he lived, might have been twice as meritorious and half as fun), and that makes many of these tracks all the more interesting. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Reviews (80)

Great Posthumous Material
First off, I'm going to have to agree with The Invisible Man a few reviews up about the instrumental "Beginnings."I think that another selection should have been made..."Pali Gap" comes to mind.

And secondly (this is very trivial), but I feel that Jimi's Experience really is forgotten about...Mitchell and Cox were just as big a part of these recordings as Hendrix was.I think that they almost never get the credit that they deserve.

Third, I will also have to agree with Danno a few reviews up that this is really the only posthumous CD that you have to have, although I would highly recommend The Jimi Hendrix Experience Box Set too (the cream of the posthumous crop, in my opinion).That said, "Hendrix in the West" and "Rainbow Bridge" are also must-haves for any real Hendrix fan (you'll have to either get imports or buy off of eBay), so I don't think that this is the only posthumous compilation that you should purchase if you're interested.

I was very satisfied with the purchase of this CD...unlike some of these people, I didn't really notice any flaws in sound, but then again, perhaps I just don't have an ear for it.I had "The Cry of Love" on cassette but it was garbage (the tape quality was crap), so I picked this up.I initially thought that it would just be like "The Cry of Love" with bonus tracks, but I was wrong.Aside from containing the entire "Cry of Love" LP, this has some really good tracks like "Hey Baby," "Room Full of Mirrors," and "Dolly Dagger," just to name a few.(Most of the "bonus tracks" can be found on "Rainbow Bridge.")

If you stop and think, given what Jimi's posthumous crew had to work with, I think they did a damn fine job of cranking this one out.I give it four stars if only because it wasn't Hendrix's project from start to finish, so it lacks a little something.Other than that though, this album is definitely worth the money and certainly worth at least one listen.I would definitely recommend this one to any Hendrix fan.

Fantastic posthumous release
This is the album Jimi Hendrix was working on when he died. Some of the songs on here were not quite finished because of his death, but this is an amzing and beautiful assortment of songs, and it gives a look into where Jimi was trying to go with his music when he died of asphyxia in his sleep in September of 1970. Some of the best songs on here are Dolly Dagger, Ezy Rider, Izabella, and My Friend. I highly recommend this album for someone very intersted in the life of Jimi Hendrix, not just in his big hits like Purple Haze and Manic Depression, because there are no hits on here. There's the greatest hits for those songs.

Probably the only "essential" posthumous Hendrix CD
Once you get past the truly awful Photoshopped CD cover, "First Rays of the New Rising Sun" is an interesting anthology of Hendrix material various record labels released after his death. The majority of the best tracks are taken from "Cry of Love," which was Warner Brothers' attempt to take the unfinished Hendrix songs closest to completion and release them as a 'farewell' album of sorts. The very best of them, such as "Dolly Dagger" and "Angel" still get substantial airplay on classic rock radio stations.

Jimi Hendrix was a titan of psychedelic rock guitar, but much of the material on this CD suggests he was moving towards a more funk and fusion-based style of music. As a result, there aren't any riff rockers here to rival "Purple Haze" or "Voodoo Child" but that isn't the point. This CD collects the very best attempts Hendrix made during this transitional period to try and recast himself into a style of music he hadn't yet mastered. Had he lived, I imagine many of the songs on this CD would have been remixed slightly differently. Would Hendrix had become a jazzman? I've no idea, but some of his phrasing on this CD suggest he was considering it.

I recommend this CD to anyone who loves Hendrix' music enough to move beyond his flamboyant rock image and into the more personal side he didn't seem to share very often. Unlike both "Cry of Love" and the hideous reissue entitled "Voodoo Soup," "First Rays" is a very fitting goodbye to a gifted musical genius. ... Read more

Asin: B000002P5R
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Sticky Fingers
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Audio CD (26 July, 1994)
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Editorial Review

"Sister Morphine," the heart of guitarist Mick Taylor's first full studio album with the Stones, doesn't get the airplay of "Brown Sugar" or "Wild Horses." But it's one of the most vivid, horrifying songs about drug abuse ever recorded--as Mick Jagger sings "from my hospital bed," the ringing guitars of Taylor and Keith Richards build to full catharsis behind him. On that and lighter songs like the countryish "Dead Flowers" and the rocker "Bitch," Charlie Watts establishes himself as rock's prototypical drummer. He's creative and propulsive and knows how to swing, but he never overwhelms the song or the other Stones. --Steve Knopper ... Read more

Reviews (155)

Let me try my hand at sounding like a moron.
"Duh, this is over-rated. dye dye, I've never understood the big deal here. *drool* I mean, Matchbox 20 writes better songs than "Wild Horses". ummmm, I'm just bitter because I've never "gotten" this. why do people make fun of me for listening to Jesus Jones? why can't I watch Lifetime, read the National Inquirer, vote for Bush, and drive my Hummer in peace?" or more to the point... "I know full well this is a classic and am only writing a bad review to get attention. just like a spoiled three year old." I think that one is more accurate.

What Real And Rock And Roll Sounds Like
Still riding high on the critical and commercial success "Let It Bleed", The Rolling Stones managed to outdo themselves when they released "Sticky Fingers". It included arguably their strongest, most consistant album ever, with songs ranging from classic rock to country to blues.

"Sticky Fingers" kicks off in high gear with my all time favorite Stones song, "Brown Sugar". This is just one of those songs that you love so much that you really can't describe how you feel about it, but this is definitely one of the greatest rock songs ever written.

The next song is the bluesy ballad "Sway". This song is notable mostly for including Mick on rhythm guitar, and overall this is one of the album's most memorable songs. The next song is quite simply the best Stones ballad ever. "Wild Horses" is one of the best songs they ever recorded, and it holds its own against "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction" as one of the best Stones songs ever.

Next up is one of the greatest jams ever put on record. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is a Santana inspired song that features two of the greatest guitar players ever, Mick Taylor and Keith Richards, dueling it out in a four minute solo that was recorded by accident. However, it's Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts that outshine everyone else on this song thanks to their ability to play almost as their own separate unit, creating a spellbinding effect.

"You Gotta Move" is a stupid song, easily the worst of the album. If you want to hear a good version of this song, check out the version on 1977's "Love You Live". The next track is pure Stones: "Bitch". Featuring an energetic Mick backed by blazing guitars and roaring horsn, this one of the best and most underrated songs in the band's entire catalogue, and it should have been released as its owns single rather than be relegated to the b-side of "Brown Sugar".

"I Got The Blues" is a bit of a downer. It is a little too depressing for my taste and even for the Stones, this track really isn't memorable. The next song, however, is a real masterpiece. "Sister Morphine" is a chilling account of a drug addict's final hours before the addiction that his dominated his life will kill. The result is utterly spellbinding, and Ry Cooder is excellent on slide guitar. This sis such a great song. I'm at a loss for words.

"Dead Flowers" is a tongue in cheek country number that remains one of the band's best and radio regular. I love the sound of the guitars of the guitars on this number. The closing track, "Moonlight Mile", is an excellent acoustic number that perfectly sums up the band's attitude at this point, looking at every album as just another mile on bumpy road to success.

This is a highly recommendable album, and one of the best rock albums ever made. Definitely worth owning.

Classic Stones in their prime
This is a very good album from the greatest rock band of all-time.I don't think a casual fan could fully appreciate or understand how great The Stones and "Sticky Fingers" are.I would have to rank this #2 from the Stones right behind Beggars Banquet. Three of my favorites of theirs are here. Everyone's heard "Wild Horses" but you might not realize how great the song really is. Just listen to the hear-felt lyrics and melody. An overlooked gem is "Sway" which puts all kinds of thoughts and emotions in my head.This song is perfect, from Micks voice and lyrics to Taylor's solo, to the fading chorus as the song winds down.It just doesn't get any better...Well, maybe it does once you hear the closer "Moonlight Mile."For some reason, not many people know this song.But it's a wonderful closer. I love it. Other standouts include the hit "Brown sugar"(maybe a bit overplayed however), "Can you hear me knocking" rocks, and the haunting "Sister Morphine" which may take a while to grow on you. The reason I only give this 4 stars is because it's not perfect, in my mind.There are a few of what one might call "fillers" such as "I got the blues" (which I like)"You gotta move"(my least favorite), and the countrish,"Dead flowers"(could be better).They aren't terrible songs.They just aren't up to par with the others. "Bitch" is popular, but it just doesn't do it for me.But that's one man's opinion. The positives far outweigh the negatives here. This is a classic rock n' roll album. As for their best, I would have to give the nod to Beggars Banquet which is a bit more consistent throughout. ... Read more

Asin: B000000W5N
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Who's Next
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (07 November, 1995)
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Editorial Review

A mix of old favorites and buried treasures makes this edition of Who's Next a definite must. One of the defining albums of 70s hard rock from one of the 60s most successful bands, the original album includes some of The Who's best-known work, such as the anthemic "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", the by turns sorrowful and angry "Behind Blue Eyes", and perennial favorite "My Wife". The new tracks on this album are equally worth hearing, including "Pure and Easy" (an alternate edition of which is available on Odds & Sods) and the original version of "Behind Blue Eyes". A hard rock classic, Who's Next is required listening for rock fans of all ages. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered
• Extra tracks

Reviews (349)

great
o man what a great album. baba oreily and we wont get fooled again are the best.i dont feel like typing anything else.


however ignor those one star reviewers like that one kid who has too much free time and listens to the Scissor Sisters, who by the way butchered Comfortably Numb by my other favorite band Pink Floyd.
Dont listen to that one guy who thinks celion dion and good charlot *snicker* are the best.

o well
anyway i love this album buy it



I command you

GET THIS CD!
The who along with led zeppelin and the rolling stones all created hard rock and set the bar for bands in the future(black sabbath?) This cd also showed how "progressive"(not the actual genrea) they were. Who could of thought that a whole cd filled with synths would do so good? Anyway the music,songwriting and the lyrics are all superb, moons drumming also seems to have hit it's peak, and even john entwistle seems to have advanced his playing...(of course daltry and townshend are great as ever)
Even if you don't like hard rock GET THIS CD!...and also to stevie B goode's post down here,there are four great british rock bands =the beatles,led zep,the who, aned pink floyd.....

Classic Albums of 1971:No. 1
Pete Townshend's unfinished LIFEHOUSE project resulted in the greatest Who album of their career--the phenomenal WHO'S NEXT.In fact, many of the songs ("Baba O'Riley," "Getting in Tune," "Going Mobile," "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again") are from that aborted project. [In addition, one of the bonus tracks, "Pure and Easy," is also a LIFEHOUSE song.]

WHO'S NEXT kicks off with "Baba O'Riley" and its simple synthesizer riff, but a minute into the song, it shifts gears and becomes classic Who with its crashing drums and windmill guitars.It is followed by the electrifying "Bargain." "Love Ain't for Keeping" (by far the shortest song at 2:10) features some deftly played acoustic guitar."My Wife" is simply John Entwhistle's best song recorded by the band. Nicky Hopkins plays piano on the lovely ballad "The Song Is Over" and "Getting in Tune.""Going Mobile" could be considered a companion piece to Entwhistle's "My Wife," and is certainly the least serious of Townshend's songs on the album.

The original album closed with a solid one-two punch.The gorgeous "Behind Blue Eyes" and the majestic "Won't Get Fooled Again." The latter contains the best recorded scream in the history of rock 'n' roll. [I still get chills every time I hear it!] More than thirty years and countless reunion tours later, this album makes clear what a powerful band the Who could be when they were at the top of their game.ESSENTIAL ... Read more

Asin: B000002OX7
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Led Zeppelin IV (aka ZOSO)
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (19 July, 1994)
list price: $18.98 -- our price: $13.49
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Editorial Review

Also known as the "rune" album or Zoso because of the medieval symbols adorning the inner sleeve, Led Zeppelin's fourth album, released in 1971, turned them from mere superstars into giant behemoths of the rock world. On tracks like "Black Dog," "Misty Mountain Hop," and "Rock and Roll," the combination of Robert Plant's banshee wails and Jimmy Page's frenetic guitar playing forever altered the stylistic bent of hard rock music. And the foreboding "When the Levee Breaks" demonstrated that Zeppelin could indeed play the blues fairly straight if they so desired. Still, everything here ultimately took a back seat to the album's (and, ultimately, the band's) magnum opus--the expertly constructed and deftly executed classic, "Stairway to Heaven." --Billy Altman ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (768)

the greatest heavy metal album ever
led zeppelin's superb fourth album was amongst the greatest heavy metal albums ever along with black sabbath's paranoid and debut albums.this brilliant album features terrific songs like rock and roll,black dog,when the leevee breaks and stairway to heaven.very highly recommended.get all their albums till presence.

When will the popularity of such mediocre artists end?
Why is it all of a sudden a big trend to listen to classic rock bands? When you can be listening to good modern music.

Led Zeppelin (minus the booze, drugs, and satanism) are merely a group of average rockers. None of these tracks actually stand out, and this cd has not passed the test of time.

For truly inspiring music just listen to Korn, Slipknot, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, or any emo/hardcore or nu metal band out there... MTV is the place for good music.

People need to quit jerking off to this.
We get it. Led Zeppelin was a great band, possibly the greatest of their time. But f**king get over it. I'm so tired of people who think they are metalheads, yet all they listen to is AC DC, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica. THERE IS OTHER MUSIC OUT THERE. Quit clinging to the past and branch out a bit! Extend your musical horizons! For the love of GOD! ... Read more

Asin: B000002J09
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Blues-Rock    4. Britain    5. British Blues    6. British Metal    7. England    8. Guitar    9. Hard Rock    10. Heavy Metal    11. Pop    12. Rock   

Meddle
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $17.98 -- our price: $13.99
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Editorial Review

For all that menacing, hatchet-happy growl at the beginning of Meddle's opener, "One of These Days," Pink Floyd really weren't about to "cut you into little pieces." Meddle did, however, show that the reigning British monarchs of 1970s-era psychedelia could rip into galloping jams. It also showed what its predecessor, Atom Heart Mother, promised--that the band could excel in long, breathtaking suites that revealed strains of late-classical music, Sun Ra-inspired space explorations, and a patchwork approach to colliding sounds that together took on acid-drenched proportions. And if all that isn't enough, "San Tropez" revealed a playful side of the band, playing footsy with loungy jazz and having good fun in the process. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (308)

Musical coming of age with hidden gems
With Meddle (pronounced "Medley") Pink Floyd came of age musically, completing their transition from psychedelic experiments to a mature but innovative rock sound.This album will delight lovers of chill-out music as well as Pink Floyd fans.

Side 1 contains two gems: "A Pillow of Winds" and "Fearless".The former is a perfect musical poem whose grace is complemented by the interplay between David Gilmour's voice and guitar phrases."Fearless" meanwhile has the timeless quality of a parable, hinting at a secret behind its understated casualness.

It is however "Echoes", the epic that occupies the whole of Side 2 of the original, that is the heart of the album and the main reason for buying it.This piece showcases the band as composers at the height of their powers, albeit funny looking ones (see Pink Floyd perform "Echoes" in the video "Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii").All four band members feature prominently, but it is the Rick Wright's synthesized passages and the liquid purity of David Gilmour's guitar playing that most stand out.This beautiful and well structured piece shimmers and glitters like ripples in the sun:

"Cloudless every day you fall upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlit wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning."

One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces!
...and so the only lyrics are included..on one of the greatest instrumentals of all time.I'm of course referring to the opening song "one of these days"...I bought this CD on a whim because it was old pink floyd (1971) and happens to have no Syd Barret on it (we ALL love you Syd, wherever you are!).

Driving down the road, I put the CD in, and the opening track absolutely blows you away.It was almost like this is what inspired a Satriani or a Vai...the crescendo of guitars and the melody of the synth drove this thing home like a 50 ton tank!

Incredible, psychadelic, bluesy, hard rock music that will stand the test of time.Take a time out and listen to Meddle...let that opening song take your breath away as it's done many others.I hope you like Pink Floyd's early music as much as I do!Every song on here is a great find.

1. One Of These Days
2. A Pillow Of Winds
3. Fearless
4. San Tropez
5. Seamus
6. Echoes

Extremely underated!
The best album of the year and one of the Floyd's best also.

1.One Of These Days-
The greatest song on the album next to Echoes. Words cannot describe the driving beat and blues/ psuedo heavy metal jam that creates this song. The coolest part, however, is Rick Wright, speaking through an amplifier and lowered in a tape machine. In an almost demonic voice he bellow's the album's theme... "one of these days I'm going to chop you into little pieces!"

2.A Pillow Of Winds-
A very good Gilmour-led song about life and weather on the English countryside. Great slide guitar.

3.Fearless-
A great folk song with beautiful lyrics and powerful, emotional music. The ending is a over lapped recording of a Liverpool soccer audience singing Rodger and Hammerstien's "You'll Never Walk Alone".

4.San Tropez-
A funny take on jazz about a man on vacation who promises to see his wife again.

5.Seamus-
A very interesting song in which David Gilmour sings back up vocals ans his dog sings lead. The coolest part is the fact that the bloodhound is on pitch most of the time.

6.Echoes-
An amzing, psycadellic, and beautiful song in which the lead instrument is a honky tonk piano fed through an rotary amplifier. It starts off instrumentally and soothing. It leads into a simple verse and chorus and short bridge which goes into another verse/chorus. This time the bridge builds up and turns into an almost funk-rock beat. This goes into three minutes of wind, howling, and pianos. The song then returns to the intro but instead of going into the final verse/chorus it builds up into an almost sinister, heavy-metal like beat which goes straight into the verse without a break. After the beautiful chorus ends it goes into a perfect ending. Simply amazing. ... Read more

Asin: B000002U8G
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Imagine
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (11 April, 2000)
list price: $16.98 -- our price: $8.99
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Editorial Review

The enduring legacy of John Lennon's best album has overshadowed a glaring historical irony: the Beatles' original architect was also responsible for some of the Fab Four's most erratic solo albums. His recording projects all too often held hostage to polemics both personal and political, Lennon's conflicting artistic sensibilities arguably reached perfect balance just once. Coproduced with an uncharacteristically subtle touch by Phil Spector (a stark contrast to his dense aural constructions for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass from the same period), this is Lennon as whole man. Here he exhibits childlike utopian optimism (the title track), extends romantic paeans to the love of his life ("Oh Yoko!" "Oh My Love," and "Jealous Guy," the latter two begun as White Album demos) and spews bitter, petty acrimony toward his former songwriting partner ("How Do You Sleep?"). Set against such expressions, Lennon's fervent antiestablishment tirades ("I Don't Want to Be a Soldier," "Gimme Some Truth") took on some real weight and perspective, while his dollops of introspection ("How?" "Crippled Inside") have an air of resignation missing from the vitriol of his personal exorcism, Plastic Ono Band. This digitally remixed/remastered redux of the album may invoke the ire of the historically retentive, but it was accomplished under the aegis of Yoko Ono with an ear for clarity and a little more of John Lennon's complex, but always gratifying, soul. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (78)

One of John Lennon's best post-Beatles albums!
1971 saw the release of ex-Beatle John Lennon's second album,this one. This album was produced by Phil Spector who also produced some songs for the Beatles' LET IT BE album,and other artists like The Ronettes(his ex-wife Ronnie's group),The Righteous Brothers and The Crystals,another 60's supergroup. Recording this album was filmed and some of the footage appeared in the 1988 Warner Bros. documentary IMAGINE-THE DEFINITIVE PORTRAIT OF JOHN LENNON. Spector even sang background and harmony vocals on some tracks on this album. Lennon's fellow ex-Beatle George Harrison even made a few guest appearances. Hits from this album include the title track and JEALOUS GUY. Also on this album is OH YOKO!,one of Lennon's odes to his second wife Yoko Ono. The aforementioned tracks,except the latter,appeared on the compilation THE JOHN LENNON COLLECTION,posthumously released in 1982 and re-issued on CD seven years later. This is the last album Lennon recorded in his native England. The same year this album was released,Lennon and Ono moved to New York City. Lennon told a news reporter shortly after the move,"I've met a lot of New Yorkers who complain about us(himself and Yoko) but nobody moves out. It's the greatest place on Earth!". Lennon was shot to death in NYC in December 1980,ending his nearly twelve-year marriage to Ono. The only other albums of Lennon's that were recorded in New York were DOUBLE FANTASY,released a few weeks before his murder,and MILK AND HONEY,also recorded in 1980 but posthumously released in '84.

This is Pure Music Genious
I was always a fan of John Lennon. I started off with the Beatles but then I started listening to John Lennon alone. I realized that when he's alone he gets to express himself more. The genious behing this album is pure greatness. "Imagine" the song is probably the greatest song of all time.

Everyday I have to listen to atleast one or two songs on this CD so then I'm ready for the day. When I have a bad day, I have to listen to Imagine because it makes me think how if none of the things in the world existed there may be peace.

I everyone in the world listened to Imagine everyday, there would be peace in the world. They should get rid of rap because it talks about killing people. John Lennon really makes you think with the songs. He's better without The Beatles because Paul McCartney just wrote songs people would like, not to make people think. The inteligence behind John's songs are remarkable. I give this CD a perfect score.

Imagine and a lot more
I just bought this album and expected a good album, but not as good as the Plastic Ono Band.Well, the album was every bit as good as it.Here's a track by track review-

Imagine- 10/10 - I can't say much about this song that hasn't already been said.It is just one of the most beautiful songs ever written and about that utopian world.Lennon's voice is in top form.

Crippled Inside- 8/10- A catccy tune, with great lyrics by John.Has kind of a country feel.

Jealous Guy- 10/10- A beautiful song about his love with Yoko.Often overlooked because of Imagine, but it is one of John's best songs ever.

It's So Hard- 10/10- The first real rocker on this album.

I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama- 10/10- One of Lennon's most famous protest songs.It has some great slide guitar by Harrison.It has a similar feel to Come Together.

Gimme Some Truth- 10/10- Lennon's best protest song.Harrison also plays guitar on this.It has a lot of the emotion that was evident on songs like I Found Out on Plastic Ono Band.

Oh My Love- 6/10- a nice song written by both John and Yoko Ono.I personally don't love it.Harrison takes guitar again.

How Do You Sleep?- 10/10- An amazing angry song directed at Paul McCartney.This might be my favorite song on the album.More slide guitar from Harrison.

Oh Yoko- 5/10- A catchy, upbeat song about John's love for Yoko, not one of my favorite Lennon songs, though many seem to love it.

Most of the songs are obviously stand-outs, and I think the presence of the song imagine overshadowed these songs and stopped them from becoming more popular.This is a must-have CD along with Plastic Ono Band. ... Read more

Asin: B0000457L2
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. England    3. Pop    4. Pop/Rock    5. Rock    6. Rock & Roll    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Ram
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (03 September, 1999)
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Editorial Review

Technically, it was Paul and Linda McCartney, since this album was very much a collaboration between them. Some of the material was of the standard we expected ("Monkberry Moon Delight," "The Backseat of My Car," "Uncle Albert/AdmiralHalsey"), but somehow it all seemed entirely too whimsical, as if they'd spent a bit too long isolated on the farm. It was the expectations that were the problem, of course. Paul was simply making a lighthearted album, and we wanted earth-shaking pronouncements. Take Ram on its own terms (i.e., fun), and it's throughly enjoyable. --Chris Nickson ... Read more

Reviews (135)

If You Love Paul At All
...then you'll likely love this album.Much of Paul's personality is on display here, in the writing, instrumentation, singing, and production.For the record, my oldest friend gave Ram for my birthday present in February 1972.For a test, try taking the best songs ("Too Many People," "Uncle A," "Eat at Home," "Long-Haired Lady," and "Back Seat"), combine them with the best cuts from Lennon's "Imagine" and Harrison's "All Things Must Pass," add the better-late-than-ever Ringo's "It Don't Come Easy," and what do you have?A truly classic Beatles album from 1971, which never was!I still think that's the best way to "hear" all the solo former-Beatles works -- as disparate parts of the original group.

Brilliant ablum
Okay, it's not an ablum but it's still brilliant.

This is McCartney at his most ambitious and most melodic, IMO. It is my favourite McCartney album. He covers a diverse range of material and it all works. The use of string arrangements on some tracks really enhances the music. This album is basically a bunch of mini-suite's, fusing various passages of music together. The main styles presented here are rock, folk, 50's pop and some of his own magic.

I'm mature for my age group; I'm really in the wrong cohort.
Ram is good but not good, its sounds peaceful but not peaceful.
I like it i don't like.Monkberry moon delightful, mmm.I don't like that song though.I have the will to judge all men.
It's a hearty constitution that keeps me out of bed at night and without colds for hours, or even years!
Perhaps sometime
you could take me for a walk
you know, sir, how I enjoy the outside.
But that's enough is the time for today.I've spent far too long,
I could have bought gas, driven to florida, in florida the music is simple
none of that paul mccartney-experiementastion, as i like to call it up on the phone, similar florida is to "goood day sunshine" nothing scare/stupid/philanderthropic like "Why don't we do it in the road" oh.No you see, I like to hum my music, and if I'm in what i call the right room, perhaps with an echo, than, the roomy sings back to my lungs.With quick repitistion.
It's a beating that inland, like newfaoundland, travels red and heart-lichen.It invades quebec, then it gets a divorce, or at least separates, that is what good music does.I hum it hums back, my memorandom is explicit with its spontaneous selections of what recall wants replay'd.Perhaps if you are single we could eat icecream cones when it gets to hot for comfort, or take off our skin and dance around in our bones, if we can't get any.I love you. ... Read more

Asin: B000002UC7
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Shaft: Music From The Soundtrack (1971 Film)
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (07 November, 1991)
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Editorial Review

The "Theme from Shaft" is now so ingrained in popular consciousness as the blaxploitation-movie track that it's hard to listen to it without a faint smirk. ("Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?"!!) But if you can get past the inadvertent humor, it's still a devilishly exciting piece of music--all hi-hat 16ths, wah-wah guitar, strings, and woodwind, like a Norman Whitfield Motown production taken to a baroque extreme. The rest of the album consists mainly of incidental mood music of no great worth: "Walk from Regio's," "Ellie's Love Theme"--you know the sort of thing. Only two other tracks feature the Black Moses pipes, while the endless "Do Your Thing" takes its place in the catalog of Hayes epics that began with Hot Buttered Soul. --Barney Hoskyns ... Read more

Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (21)

But,,I'm talking about Shaft
One of the best soundtracks to come out of the 70s, ifnot the best was Isaac Hayes'Shaft' soundtrack.With the academy award winning 'Theme from Shaft'.I still remember seeing him performing the song at the awards show on tv.Isaac Hayes recorded Shaft during his best creative years.So what makes Shaft so special? Well to answer wy own question.Shaft is a blend of funk,smooth jazz (before it was called smooth jazz) soul and rhythm & blues.And it all comes together to produced the Isaac Hayes sound.Very few artist have manage to bring together both film andsound like Isaac Hayes did with the Shaft soundtrack.Youfind yourself enjoying the music just as much as the movie.Before Shaft Isaac Hayes was best known for working his magic with other people's material like 'Buy The Time I Get To Phoenix,Our Day Will Come and The Look Of Love etc,etc,etc.But Shaft if I'm not mistaking was Isaac Hayes first whole album of his own original music.And herose to the challenge.I think Shaft gave Mr.Hayes anopportunity to record songs that weren't a part of hisnormal routine.And this gave us songs like Ellie's Love Theme,Early Sunday Morning and Shaft Strikes Again.Just to name a few on this great album.So thanks to Shaft we got to hear these gems.Yes Shaft is a fantastic soundtrack it's Isaac Hayes at his best and I highlyrecomment it.After thirty-five years the music still sounds good.The only downside to the album to me is the length of Do Your Thing.Why so long? I don't know why Isaac Hayes made it so long.Maybe he needed to fill in some space.Well I guess I'll go and watch the movie Shaft on my DVD player now.

Ikes a bad mutha-
By 1971 Ike was a big name in the R&B world. On his 1969 debut `Hot Buttered Soul' he had changed the game with his genius and innovation. However his two follow up albums had only shown flashes of the brilliance he flaunted so effortlessly on his debut.

Nevertheless much like Curtis Mayfield with `Superfly', being recruited to provide a film score (In this case Richard Roundtrees awesome Shaft) seemed to unlock the door to a hidden world of inspiration inside Ike's mind.

Everybody knows the distinctive and tongue in cheek title theme which these days seems to epitomise everything 70s. The remainder of the album is largely scene-related instrumentals and mood music that never stops being pleasing on the ear. The other two vocal cuts are the jazzy `Soulsville' and the mammoth `Do Your Thing'. In its 3 minute radio edit form `Do Your Thing' is a classic hard fonk number, however, the album version is dragged out to no less than twenty minutes(!), largely by an overly long electric guitar solo. Whereas previous extra length songs by Hayes had justified every second of their playing time, for once Ike seems to be doing it purely for the sake of it. Still it's a good tune and other than that its difficult to find fault with this album, which was a major hit and sealed Ike's name in history forever.

One of those Must Own type records.

Nothing Better!!
Simply put, the greatest movie soundtrack of all time. No other soundtrack has seemlessly tied together a storyline, mood and the time it was released. It's a lyrical painting of urban America in the 70s. And the opening cymbal/wah-wah guitar combo has NEVER been matched. Think about it. What other classic is immediately recognizable within the first five or ten seconds?? I'm a white, suburban, 42-year-old guy who grew up on great music like this. I just wish American youth (white and black) would be more exposed to guys like Issac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Al Green instead of the hip-hop garbage that passes today as urban/soul. They could learn a thing or two about arrangements and composition too!! ... Read more

Asin: B000000ZML
Subjects:  1. Blaxploitation    2. Blues    3. Funk    4. Pop    5. R&B    6. Soul    7. Soundtrack   

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (20 May, 1997)
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Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (37)

"Listen to the tide slowly turning, washing heartaches away"
"we're part of a fire that is burning, from the ashes we will build another day.... " follow the procession as the Moodies document the evolution of sound, communication and then - MUSIC! A journey in time from the dawn of the age of man up through the Vietnam war era. Justin makes some very good points about life, death and war in the aforequoted song 'The Story In Your Eyes'. 'One More Time To Live' is another standout tune on this disc, although not initially. Interestingly though, after many repeated listenings, I really like this tune. It doesn't stand alone as well as some because it is partially based on 'Procession' and other themes found in EGBDF. John definitely shines on this song. Everyone in the band contributes in some significant ways - that's what we love about the core 7 after all, isn't it? Justin, John, Mike, Graeme and Ray. Each a vital part of the sound AND the lyrical themes.
A must have for Moody Blues heads.

Similar in quality to the band's previous album
While certainly not the best of the Moody Blues "classic seven ("Days of Future Passed" through "Seventh Sojourn"), "Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor" is quite good, and virtually an equal to the group's prior album "Question of Balance."For instance, once again, the two best songs on this album are penned by Justin Hayward.The classic "The Story in Your Eyes" is probably one of the best five songs the band ever did, with its stinging electric guitar and driving rhythm. It is simply a timeless classic that I think is even better than "Question" from the previous album.In my opinion, the first song "Procession" really just serves as an introduction to "The Story in Your Eyes."I know that "Procession" can also be interpreted as the evolution of music, or a tribute to the different music around the world, but I, for one, have grown tired of it.

The second best song on the album is Justin's superlative "You Can Never Go Home" which builds into a truly moving listening experience.Justin has never sung, or played his electric guitar, better.Other stand-outs are "Emily's Song" written by John Lodge about his daughter, in which John avoids being too cutesy by keeping it short and utilizing interesting instrumentation.Thomas' "Our Guessing Game," inexplicably omitted from the Moodies boxed set "Time Traveler," is uplifting and powerful, and comparable to "The Tide Rushes In."Pinder's "My Song" has a hypnotic effect on the listener, similar to his "Have You Heard/The Voyage" medley.

I find tracks 5-7 tedious, and I generally skip them.Lodge's "One More Time to Live" is particularly overbearing and cliched.Singing a string of words ending in "tion" (e.g. creation, evolution, pollution, solution) does not necessarily make for deeper meaning (see also U2s "Bad").

Overall a very good album.The next one (Seventh Sojourn) would return the band to the greatness they achieved with "Days of Future Passed" and "To Our Children's Children's Children."

One Of The Moody Blues' Best Albums
EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR is one of the best albums the Moody Blues ever did. The song "The Story In Your Eyes" is an absolute classic, but other great stuff abounds here, including "Emily's Song" and "Nice To Be Here." However, aside from "Story", the best cut on this album is "You Can Never Go Home", a song which, for me, explains why I've chosen to skip food-related alumni days at my old school in favor of getting in shape for my favorite female celebrities. It's a shame this song didn't get more recognition, as it is one more classic on a classic album. ... Read more

Asin: B000002GQK
Sales Rank: 2178
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Sunflower/Surf's Up
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 July, 2000)
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Editorial Review

After an acrimonious split with their original record label at the end of the 1960s, the Beach Boys moved over to Warner Bros., ostensibly to capitalize on their phenomenal early successes. But the move also coincided with band founder/creative genius Brian Wilson's burgeoning health problems and subsequent artistic abdication. That the boys were able to come up with what remain two of their more interesting albums is an enduring testament to the band's willpower. Sunflower, originally released in 1970, was a drastically revamped version of an unreleased album called Landlocked, and has an upbeat consistency that both built on the band's vocal strengths and somehow overcame schmaltzy pop and even the embarrassing, halting espanole of "At My Window." Perhaps the album's greatest revelation is the brief flowering of Dennis Wilson as a writing and singing talent, especially on the lovely "Forever." With Dennis largely succumbing to older brother Brian's demons, '71's Surf's Up is marred by cloddish efforts at agit-prop hipsterism (Mike Love's "Student Demonstration Time") and a nascent environmentalism that ranges from the naïve ("Don't Go Near the Water") to the bizarre ("A Day in the Life of a Tree"). Carl Wilson rescues the collection somewhat with "Long Promised Road" and "Feel Flows," but the album's twin jewels are both salvaged Brian Wilson efforts--the title track was one of the centerpieces of the unreleased Smile (cowritten by lyricist Van Dyke Parks and here given that album's "Child Is Father to the Man" as a glorious coda), while "Til I Die" hails from the scrapped Landlocked and remains one of Brian's most hauntingly introspective works. Both albums have been remastered on a single disc and include new liner notes by Wilson biographer Timothy White. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (81)

The great forgotten Beach Boys album plus "Surf's Up"
In England, the Beach Boys continued to be well-received post "Pet Sounds". Here in the U.S. they were dead commercially. The album reached #151 in their homeland, with its most "successful" song commercially, "Add Some Music to Your Day" peaking at #67, well out of the pop charts. It's too bad because it's the band's most successful album artistically in terms of working as a unit.

The followup, "Surf's Up", was the band's attempt to regain their credibility with the FM rock radio crowd and while not as good an album overall as "Sunflower", it contains arguably the single finest Beach Boys effort ever.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Brian's "This Whole World" is absolutely breathtaking in its innocence with great group vocals, particularly at the "Oom bop dit-dit" coda. "Add Some Music to your Day" may be the best tribute to the life quality enhancing value of music ever written. Rocker "It's about Time" blends some screachin' lead guitar and driving drums with an out-of-left field bridge that mark this as one of Dennis' best compositions. The most notable emergence on the album, though, is that of Bruce Johnston's. His melancholy "Tears in the Morning" uses interesting arrangement touches (accordion and Spanish tinged guitar and a reverb drenched piano coda) alongside a great lyric, Dennis' "Forever" has made its way into Beach Boy lovers weddings with good reason...it's one of his best ballads and a nice vocal performance.

"Surf's Up" shows Carl emerging with the gritty optimism of "Long Promised Road" (co-written with then manager Jack Rieley). The song ALMOST cause me to forgive Rieley for his faux pas later (See "LOWS"). The track really kicks in from the instrumental bridge where the trombonish sound (it's probably a Moog synth) duels with the guitar. "Take Good Care of Your Feet" is good silly fun that hides a rather avant garde production (phased vocals, heavily echoed cowbells, etc.) "Disney Girls (1957)" is Bruce's finest piece of writing ever. It's a perfect evocation of the innocence of the 50s...particularly the "Hi Rick and Dave" section. "Til I Die" is wonderfully melancholy. "Surf's Up", a Brian and Van Dyke Parks penned "SMiLe" leftover with some re-recording, is far and away the best track here: completely pictorial music and surreal lyrics. No "columnated ruins" here...just sheer majesty.

LOWS:
Dennis' "Got to Know the Woman" is a weak lyric coupled with a somewhat painful performance. As much as I like him, this one brings down the album. At the risk of being branded heretical, I'll say that "Cool, Cool Water", a cobbled together "SMiLe" outtake sounds wildly out of place on "Sunflower" and probably takes away from it. It's an astounding vocal performance but the jarring transitions don't fit in with the self-assured melodicism of the rest of the album.

"Surf's Up" could define "uneven" and contains what I consider the band's biggest "rut" ever: "A Day in the Life of a Tree". The lyric is actually good but the 'vocal' from Jack Rieley induces first laughter, then retching. Ugh. "Student Demonstration Time" is every bit as bad as other reviewers say. And more. Consider this couplet as Mike Love attempts to speak eloquently about Kent State's riots ("They said the students scared the Guard, though the troops were battle dressed, Four martyrs earned the new degree: the Bachelor of Bullets").

BOTTOM LINE:
"Sunflower" is flat out great. While not as good as "Pet Sounds", it stands alongside their great 60s albums like "Today!", "Summer Days (and Summer Nights)" or "Friends". "Surf's Up" is more uneven but if you skip the two worst tracks, it's a fine effort as well.

One of the great albums paired with an uneven effort
The material on the two albums is among the best recordings by the Beach Boys-- "Sunflower" is the great overlooked Beach Boys record and "Surf's Up" contains two of Brian Wilson's most powerful compositions, perhaps even the greatest music he has ever written.

"Sunflower" is the unique during this period in that Brian's contributions are heavily felt-- no less than seven of the nine tracks bear his name as composer, while one of them is simply awful ("At My Window", cowritten by Al, with bizarre voiceover and goofy lyrics) and a couple of them are lacking in performance ("Our Sweet Love", cowritten by Carl and Al) or lyrics ("Dierdre", cowritten by Bruce), the remainder of the material is brilliant-- "This Whole World" is a brief r&b-influenced piece with great dry harmonies and a killer lead by Carl, "Add Some Music To Your Day" and "Cool, Cool Water" (the latter being a recycled Smile song) have purely brilliant vocal arrangements, and "All I Wanna Do" is another of those "lost" great works-- incredible vocal delivery by Mike, cascading chorus harmonies, and a really sweet lyric.

The remainder of the album has one Bruce Johnston piece ("Tears in the Morning") and four Dennis Wilson compositions, including the great opening rocker "Slip On Through" and perhaps the best of Dennis' several brilliant love songs, "Forever".He also contributes two fairly straightahead rockers, the lusty "Got to Know the Woman" and another great Carl Wilson lead vocal on "It's About Time".

"Surf's Up" is a weaker album, but closes on a stunning note, two of Brian's great compositions, the absolutely unbelieveable "'Til I Die", quite possibly the best lyric of any Beach Boys song and an incredible vocal delivery to match, and the incomparable "Surf's Up", leftover from Smile."Surf's Up" is just outstanding, the galloping piano rhythms, soaring lead vocal from Carl, and circular vocals over brilliant left hand piano on the "Child is the Father of Man" tag are just breathtaking.

The rest of the album doesn't quite live up to the ending-- Jack Rieley's influence in lyrics is felt, but much of the political/environmental/health consciousness lyrics on this record (Al and Mike's "Don't Go Near the Water", Mike's rewrite of "Riot in Cell Block #9" titled "Student Demonstration Time", Al's "Take a Load Off Your Feet" and "Lookin' at Tomorrow" and Brian's "A Day in the Life of a Tree") feel inauthentic."A Day in the Life of a Tree" is actually quite a nice song, with a really magic tag, but suffers from a really weak lead vocal by Jack Rieley, and "Take a Load Off Your Feet" may well be, in my assessment the worst Beach Boys song of the late '60s/early '70s.There's a strong, although overly sacchrine Bruce contribution ("Disney Girls") and two strong Carl pieces (the great rocker "Long Promised Road" and mid tempo oddity "Feel Flows"), but noticably missing are contributions from Dennis, who pulled his songs after a disagreement.Still, a ten track album with five strong pieces and several decent or interesting ones isn't bad at all.

"Surf's Up"'s unevenness is really made up for by the power of the great songs on there, and "Sunflower" is essential.After Pet Sounds, this is the next Beach Boys stuff to get.

A mind-blowing two-fer on one CD
I would easily pay $30 each for these albums individually on CD.Thanks to the Beach Boys "two-fer" series (one of the great ideas in record label history), you can get them both on one CD for half that price.

It was on 1969's "20/20" that the other Beach Boys began to step out of Brian Wilson's huge shadow.But "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up" showed just how much talent really was present in the greatest musical act of all time.On "Sunflower," Dennis Wilson contributes the breathtaking "Slip on Through" and the heartbreaking "Forever," as well as two lesser, but still enjoyable tracks, "Got to Know the Woman" and "It's About Time."On "Surf's Up," Carl Wilson comes up with his first true solo compositions, and they're both classics of early 70s rock -- "Long Promised Road" and "Feel Flows."Bruce Johnston chips in two perfect pop confections, "Deirdre" and "Disney Girls 1957."Even Al Jardine gets in the act with the generally overlooked gems "At My Window," "Don't Go Near the Water," "Take a Load off Your Feet," and "Looking at Tomorrow."

Brian Wilson is the looming presence over these brilliant albums.It is generally believed he was uninvolved with the production of "Surf's Up" -- except for his own two contributions, "A Day in the Life of a Tree" and "'Til I Die.""'Til I Die" is heartrending, stunning -- an extroardinary, autobiographical song."Tree," to my ear (not all agree), is almost equally brilliant (though I would rather Brian had sung the lead himself instead of giving it to the band's then-manager Jack Rieley, who was not a real singer).Reportedly, the closing track, "Surf's Up," was completed by the Beach Boys from Brian's unfinished SMiLE tapes, but somehow it works, and to my way of thinking this version of the song is one of the ten greatest cuts ever recorded by anyone.

Brian appears to have been more involved in "Sunflower."The album has his stamp as a sort of "executive producer" (though some would dispute that).He contributed several incredible tracks, particularly "This Whole World" (the a capella ending is breathtaking) and "Cool Cool Water," which is unlike any other song I've ever heard, and marvelous in every way.Brian also chipped in the lovely, atmospheric "All I Wanna Do," the tender "Our Sweet Love," and the anthemic "Add Some Music to Your Day."

These are two five-star albums that show a side to the Beach Boys most casual fans would never even dream of.I cannot explain why they were not popular in their own time (at least in the US; they did better overseas).Shockingly, "Sunflower" only spent four weeks on the US album chart; its commercial failure was reportedly a devastating emotional blow to Brian in particular.Now, however, with hindsight, these albums are recognized (at least by those who know them) as among the very best the 1970s produced. ... Read more

Asin: B00004TJXS
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Pop/Rock    3. Rock    4. Rock & Roll    5. Sunshine Pop   

Blue
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Joni Mitchell would go on from this '71 recording to make more popular, more ambitious, and more challenging albums, but she's never made a better one. Working with minimal accompaniment (Stephen Stills and James Taylor are two of the four sidemen), the Canadian thrush summoned an involving song cycle of romance found and lost. Though Blue is an uncommonly intimate representation, it's also astonishingly open and gracious. Songs such as "All I Want," "Carey," "California," and "A Case of You" work equally well as poetry and pop music. --Steve Stolder ... Read more

Reviews (187)

Nothin' like first impressions..
I just bought this album a couple weeks ago. It was my first Joni Mitchell album, and certainly not my last.

"Blue" is a wonder. It's melancholy, sparse, and quiet..yet, it's totally inviting. The songs range from folky, accoustic guitar songs to piano ballads; and not much in between.

"Carey" and "California" both fall into the former category, and are two of the more upbeat moments to be found. Both contain nice pop hooks; the latter sounds very James Taylor-ish, and I believe he played on this album.

Songs like "The Last Time I Saw Richard", and the title track fall into the latter category; both are haunting and beautiful at the same time. "River" is another sad, gorgeous piano ballad.

"A Case Of You" seems to be an 'essential' Joni Mitchell song; it's another gentle, beautiful folk song with some really excellent lyrics. Equally as essential in my view is "My Old Man".

Other highlights include the brooding "This Flight Tonight", the delicate "Little Green", and the opener "All I Want", which hooked me within the first 20 seconds, and never let up..

Now, to purchase some more Joni Mitchell albums..

Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!
This is an absolutely brilliant work of art right here.Joni Mitchell is just a great artist all around and she brings a level of depth to her work that is rarely seen.Unfortunately, being a profound musical artist is generally something that is not valued or appreciated by most, so many just won't get Joni Mitchell.Joni possesses a truly rare gift as a lyricist, and she is able to paint extremely vivid, rich and effective pictures with her pen.She is also one of the greatest composers ever.She has created some of the most complex and beautiful arrangements and melodies that I've ever been lucky enough to hear.Her arrangements are generally pretty intricate, so if your simply looking for some catchy poppy tunes to bob your head to, then you are really looking in the wrong place.Joni Mitchell is one of the few artist that I've heard that I can honestly describe as a genius and she shows why througout this entire album.This album is a totally engulfing experience from beginning to end.It can be a tough nut to crack at first if you don't already listen to this "type" of music ( I use that word very loosely because I really don't like to categorize music into "types"-the only types that I care about can be measured in degrees of quality :-), but man is it rewarding once you get it.It was a challenge for me at first, but I've learned that the best albums are not the ones that are fully grasped on the first listen, but ultimately are the ones that are just as powerful and rewarding no matter how many times you listen to them, and those albums often take a few listens to grasp.So, I continued to listen, and now I would put this in the top 5 albums that I have ever heard.It is stellarly written, superbly composed and just so moving, powerful, and effective an experience, that it gets better with each listen.The tone of this album is pretty somber all througout, although it does have the occasional radiant burst of sunshine such as 'Carey' and the oh so rockin' 'This Flight Tonight'.Well, I guess that I can't really describe 'This Flight Tonight' as radiant, but it is an energetic break from the melancholy somberness of most of the album.Ultimately, the best albums are the ones that are the most rewarding, and I have heard very few albums in my lifetime that are anywhere near as rewarding as this one is.

Follows you all through your life
32 years ago I was sitting on a beach with a girl and she said to me "There is a line in a song that goes 'Just before our love got lost, you said "I am as constant as the northern star" and I said, "Constantly in the darkness.Where's that at!If you want me I'll be in the bar." And I was hooked!I listened to the album ("Blue") and it has followed me through my life - as an anthem - a paean of the sweetest poetry - a melody to life.My youngest daughter heard it some years ago and now Blue has become her companion.This is unrepeated beauty and the sweetest companion in love and sadness. Mitchell has done a lot of great stuff since but nothing that quite matches the exquisite emotional subtelty of this musical masterpiece.Give it a try. If you have the ear you won't regret it.If not, that's ok. ... Read more

Asin: B000002KBU
Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Folk-Rock    3. Folk/Country Rock    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Singer/Songwriter   

Tupelo Honey
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (03 June, 1997)
list price: $9.98 -- our price: $7.99
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Editorial Review

Van Morrison's "Caledonia soul"--his unique blend of Irish mysticism and spiritual questing, literary allusion and blue-eyed R&B--can be as beautiful and deeply emotional as any music ever made. That's certainly the case on 1971's Tupelo Honey, one of the finest albums of Morrison's long career. Kicking off with the classic "Wild Night," Tupelo Honey is as completely joyous as the normally bitter Van gets, particularly on the title track and the unabashedly grateful, slow-building "You're My Woman," both among the most moving love songs he's recorded. --David Cantwell ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (35)

weak sauce
Van has many good songs and albums, and this is not one of them, even though many people really like it.The opening track "wild night" is outstanding, and I like the second song, but from there on it gets really weak and petty."tupelo honey" is pure schmaltz (no, thats Not a compliment) and gets very boring and tedious.The other songs are just annoying, because they lack the power that Van Morrison songs usually have.I would recommend that you get Moondance, which is a wonderful cd and his best overall work, and his Best Of vol 1 cd instead of this.There isn't anything particularly memorable about Tupelo Honey, and I have a hard time saying that because I really enjoy a lot of Van Morrison music.

It's a keeper
I have all of Van's early stuff.This would probably be number three on my list.Astral Weeks being first and moondance coming in a close second. The FM stations beat to death the title track so I will comment on the others.Moonshine Whiskey is one tune that really flies.It is as close to the other two albums as you can get.The rest of the album is very good, a lot of people rave about "you're my Woman but I don't feel what they feel on that one.I'll take Ballarnia any day!So, lastly, I would say get this if you already own and like the other two.

Straight to your heart like a cannonball...
Usually, when people talk about the greatness of Irishman George Ivan Morrison, they mention his two supposedly greatest moments, 1968's "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" from 1970.
Yet, as great as those two records are, they are not as immediately accessible, or indeed as flawless, as this fabulous blend of folk, soul, country and jazz. The melodies are instantly memorable, the arrangements are wonderful...I've known (of) Van Morrison for ten years at least, but only recently gotten around to actually buy some of his albums, and of all his late 60s-early 70s releases, this is my favorite.

It's not as bluesy (or even as jazz-flavoured) as some of his later material, drawing more on the Irish (and Scottish) folk traditions. But first and foremost, this is Van Morrison, and that means you can forget all about classifying "Tupelo Honey" as a rock record, a country record, a folk album or a jazz album, or any other thing known to man. It's a little of everything, and (unlike many such hybrids) it works. Every time.

Lovely piano playing, subte use of horn arrangements, flute and sax (and never too much of either), and Morrison himself is in great voice.
There is really not a single weak moment on this wonderful album. It goes from one triumph to the next, from the opening R&B-influenced "Wild Nights" over the lovely ballads "You're My Woman" and the classic title track, to the boggie-woogie of "When That Evening Sun Goes Down" and the swinging, folkish "Moonshine Whiskey", the entire record is nothing but highlights. ... Read more

Asin: B000002GNK
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

What's Going On
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (07 April, 1998)
list price: $11.98
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Editorial Review

Sly & The Family Stone might have psychedelicized soul music, but Marvin Gaye personalized it. Although the powers-that-were Motown didn't even want to release the record, the unexpected success of What's Going On, issued in 1971, inspired Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and just about every other black artist on the planet to take greater responsibility for their music and its meaning. Gaye co-wrote the songs and produced the album, flavoring it with layer upon layer of his own multi-tracked vocals, oceans of hand percussion, strings, flutes, and jazzy horn solos. Spacey and loose as a spliff-fueled Sunday afternoon jam in the park, the nine songs all played like a hit single. The title track--inspired by his brother's return from the Vietnam War--and the obvious social commentary of "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" actually were hit singles. Two other tracks ("Wholly Holy" and "Save the Children") would inspire hit covers by Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, respectively. Nevertheless, What's Going On sounds as fresh today as it did the week that it came out. Recommended reading: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz (McGraw-Hill, 1985). --Don Waller ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (133)

Marvin "the prophet"
"What's Going On" is revealing in it's nature, very haunting and true...with this masterpiece Marvin did something that was never before done in the history of pop music culture; following in the footsteps of one of his idols Ray Charles, he mixed his musical roots and sang a sermon that to this day is fresh and powerful.Marvin is the greatest.

Gaye's finest. A REAL soul classic
The reviewer who thinks that the Lighthouse Family (of whom the lead singer marked Gaye as an influnce)is better than this doesn't know what he's talking about.He should stick to his Shakin Stevens and other rubbish like that.Back to this which has been a favorite of mine since 1987 and to say that they don't make music like this anymore is becoming an understatment.This is solid gold soul music worth anything than the likes of 50 Cent.I won't go to detail of this as the other 5 star reviews have done so.Except to say that many of the tracks have been covered by many artists over the years.It's one of the last great Motown recordings to come out of Detriot through their golden years (1963-1971).It's a still an all time classic 34 years on that brings out the best of Gaye,the Funk Brothers and especially one of the worlds greatest bass players, the late great James Jamerson.

An All-Time Classic
Any barebones Marvin Gaye collection should include a good compilation of his 60's hits as well as Let's Get It On and this one.What's Going On found Gaye breaking free from the Motown hit-making apparatus to produce an artistic statement that has since become a cornerstone of R&B and one of the all time great records.It's instructive that only an artist of Gaye's stature was allowed to get away with something like this at the time on Motown.

The title track is one of his greatest and has rightfully become an R&B standard.Gaye's gritty, streetwise lyrics set the tone for what's to come."What's Happening Brother" concerns a dazed and confused returning Vietnam War vet while "Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)" is about the dangers of drugs.Considering his own habit and circumstances of his sad demise, it's eerie to hear him sing lines like "I go crazy when I can't get it...the pain, oh the pain."

"Mercy Mercy Me" is another of Gaye's best songs and for me is the high point of the album as Gaye welds a classic and hypnotic beat to ecology-minded lyrics.Another classic hit, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" closes out the set.Despite it's fair share of hits, this record was sequenced so that each song flows into each other, with a singular purpose of music and lyrics that makes it best heard from beginning to end in one sitting.

What's Going On not only pushed the boundries wide open on R&B subject matter, but experimented musically as well.Starting with background "party" sounds and adding bongos, congas and other percussion, full horn and string sections and lush backing vocals make this an almost symphonic form of R&B.

A truly remarkable recording, and quite possibly the best R&B album ever.A must for any comprehensive collection. ... Read more

Asin: B0000060NF
Subjects:  1. Motown    2. Pop    3. Pop-Soul    4. R&B    5. Smooth Soul    6. Soul    7. United States of America    8. Urban    9. Vocals   

Young, Gifted and Black
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (14 December, 1993)
list price: $9.98 -- our price: $9.98
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Editorial Review

Like its predecessor, Spirit in the Dark, 1972's Young, Gifted and Black found Aretha moving with soul music's elite into a progressive phase that opened up the emotional content of her work even further. "All the King's Horses" mourns the death of her first marriage, while "Day Dreaming" and "A Brand New Me" point toward what we'd now call "healing." Two stabs at social comment, Nina Simone's title cut and, intriguingly, Elton John's "Border Song," round out this impressive portrait. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Top Of The Soul Pyramid, The Queen Of Soul's Best Album
Incredible almost unbelievable recording from Aretha. This is it! If you are into Soul this is an essential recording. Aretha's best album. Its a shame to buy this on CD, you must hunt down the vinyl and experience the Soul in analog. The tune Spanish Harlem was suppose to be on this album but they put it on Aretha's Greatest Hits instead I guess to boost album sales. Just imagine if Spanish Harlem was on this album! Wow!

Great music and memories, too
A very special affection attaches itself to this Franklin album for me - it's the one whose hit singles (and Aretha's were always two-sided!) saw me through senior year of high school:"Rock Steady" & "Oh Me Oh My" came in October 71, the album itself on January 24, 1972, "Day Dreaming" & "I've Been Loving You Too Long" in February, and "All The Kings Horses" & "April Fools" in May. Like any self-respecting Franklin fan, I bought the album AND the 45s. By the time graduation rolled around, Aretha's astonishing first gospel set for Atlantic, "Amazing Grace" was in the record stores too. (Aretha had some great company vying for our attention that year:the "Shaft" soundtrack, the Chi-Lites breaking through with "Have You Seen Her" & "Oh Girl," the Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself" & "I'll Take You There," the rise of Al Green and Michael Jackson's first solo outings, and so much more...)Guess where all my disposable income went.

I hope today's young music fans and the recording artists they make successful, have the same experience with time.For baby-boomer lovers of soul music, this album is a generational touchstone, transporting you back to who you were, and where you were when it was new, every time it plays. With this one, Aretha's repertoire was expanding to include more jazz and pop element shadings and it was, and still is, a delight among her many works. "Border Song" was already familiar as a November 1970 single, and "A Brand New Me" rode the B-side (and got good airplay itself) of the "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 45 in March of 71.

The sublime bonus on the LP was the added length (about a minute) that "Day Dreaming" had over it's 45 version, with a longer intro, and an angelic repeating of the title as the song reached it's conclusion that vocally seemed to aim for the stratosphere. But don't drift off; because "Rock Steady" came next to bring you right back to funky earth.

It's seems the only means I have of thanking Miss Franklin for the soundtrack that she's provided my life, is to keep spending on her work, and recommending it to others. That's what I'm doing.("Young, Gifted & Black" was originally Atlantic LP No. 7213).

A Near Masterpiece
I recently rediscovered my youthful affinity for great Soul/R&B (Al Green, Isleys, EW&F, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, etc)
Kinda ironic since I grew up in wealthy suburbia, but enough about me. So I decided to explore the Queen of Soul. This music moves me like no other--you can feel the emotions Ms. Franklin is singing about and that is what all music should be about, no matter the genre. The only thing less than perfect on this recording is the sound. It has not been remastered and there is a fair amount of hiss. Also, the mix seems slightly off in places. I can't put my finger on it just yet though. As for content: A True Masterpiece. Happy Listening! P.S. Check out JOSS STONE if you like Aretha. ... Read more

Asin: B00000335M
Subjects:  1. Deep Soul    2. Pop    3. R&B    4. Soul    5. Southern Soul   

Let's Stay Together
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (07 September, 1993)
list price: $11.98
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Editorial Review

The Memphis Sound took its greatest steps toward '70s smoothness with Al Green. Let's Stay Together is a showcase of the combination of grit and honey that made the singer one of the decade's foremost artist-hitmakers. In addition to the classic title single--a pop and R&B No. 1 in 1972--the album offers prime early examples of other Green trademarks: an unexpected cover (the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart") and the outright eccentricity of "So You're Leaving," which answers gossips with the assurance that if "they'll lie on Jesus, can't you see they'll lie on you and me."--Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Fantastic!
This is a truly great album.Forget the numerous 'greatest hits' albums out there and buy this.In my opinion it manages to combine one of the happiest (Lets stay together) and saddest (How can you mend a broken heart) songs on the same album!

Get Together With Al
The title track to Let's Stay Together has become Al Green's signature song and a certified r&b classic.The song is one of the definitive Memphis soul songs with its smooth organ punctuated by horns , Rev. Green comes in a low voice and then in the chorus reaches up to a heavenly falsetto.The song became his only his only number one on the pop charts.The album also contains one of his most underrated songs, a stirring version of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart".Rev. Green sings it with a true pain in his voice and the emotion practically oozes out of your speakers.Other excellent songs include "So You're Leaving", "I've Never Found A Girl" and "Judy".

Ahhhh!...... Rev. Al!
Al can sing.That's all you need to know.The most soulful falsetto voice out there (makes mincemeat out of Barry Gibb on 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart'), and songs made up of beautifully laid-back arrangements. My faves include 'So You're Leaving Me' and 'I've Never Found a Girl'. Good grooves and great vocals.

And then there's the title cut.Firstheard by these years under a conversation between Ving Rhames and BruceWillis in Pulp Fiction, on its own it stands out as a monster.A greatcross between deceptively complex songwriting and deceptively complexemotions.'Let's Stay Together' is really about a