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I love the Beatles' childish songs. They're part of the charm of every album. My kids LOVE Ob-La-Di, and that's great. The Beatles were found of comedy records, which was George Martin's field before he met them.
They didn't take themselves seriously and that's what I love in them. John was the band's buffon (I love those spoken voices he makes) before he got intersted in modern art
You probably know that Lennon was pissed by McC's "fiddle-faddle" as much as Paul was pissed by "Revolution 9"
30-26
Almost done, so I'm not gonna annoy any of you anymore with those hackneyed paragraphs
I'm not the biggest fan of LZ out there (although I love "Led Zeppelin II" along with that record), but "IV" is a tour de force. It's amazing the level of perfection it reaches if you consider there are only like, what, eight tracks on it. Even if you dislike the band completely, you must at least hear to this because it is the one that pretty much sums up everything they've done. As lame as it might sound, "Black Dog" is one of those beats you can't resist headbanging to and the most exciting one possible to drag you to the universe this album creates. One "complaint" though I always had is that, in my honest opinion, the last track (and I mean the one that closes the album, that it should on the second side of it) should be "Stairway To Heaven". Unavoidably, when you include it "halfway" through and it is actually the greatest song using multiple genres of music ever written and performed, almost like translating Schubert or Strauss to rock'n'roll, the rest is gonna sound inferior, even when they are actually brilliant songs (with "Going To California" being my favorite). Whatever, it's an undeniable classic but even if it wasn't, I'd adore it anyway.
And now for something that fewer people will agree with. I love the Stones and I mentioned before how much I appreciate "Sticky Fingers", "Beggars Banquet" and "Let It Bleed" ("Out Of Our Heads" also, but it didn't even make the Top 500 so I didn't have a chance to mention it). I think that "Exile On Main St." actually gets the most of the recognition because it represents more accurately what that band really sounded like, their roots, influences and what they finally produced. I don't object that it is great, very energetic and doesn't water down a good weirdness factor in its sound at some parts. But its loud noise starts to become tiresome after 5-6 tracks and it doesn't know when to slow down. Thankfully, when it does ("Sweet Virginia") only to start after a while again ("Happy"), it gets more balanced and easy to enjoy. Favorites: "Rocks Off", "Sweet Black Angel" and "All Down The Line".
"Kid A", although definitely much better than, say, "In Rainbows" (haven't listened to "The King Of Limbs" yet), is too much whimsical for whimsicality's sake. When it gets slightly more accesible ("Everything In Its' Right Place", "How To Disappear Completely", "Kid A") it's brilliant it feels like a breath of fresh air, but unfortunately it doesn't leave many chances like that for the listener to chill. But when it pushes it to the limit ("The National Anthem", "In Limbo"), it's borderline unlistenable.
Personally I prefer "Sign 'O' The Times" as a more inventive and gently pleasing record but I can see why "Purple Rain" gains more popularity, besides being totaly awesome. It's like a chocolate too tasty to resist to, and because, you know, it's the '80s, it happens to be probably the most inspired moment for the genre of pop with dance beats, after "Thriller". What is also masterful is the playful mood which characterises all the album through, even in its' most romantic parts ("The Beautiful Ones"). And, please, find me one artist today that has such variety of emotions in his vocals like Prince had in this. It also has one of the best closing songs in the history of music and therefore it's its' biggest highlight. Other classics to me are "Take Me With U", "Computer Blue" and "When Doves Cry".
I think I also have mentioned something small before commenting on John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" but jazz is so not my kind of music and so is Miles Davis. Generally I have a very short attention span and the repetitive sounds used in jazz don't help me concentrating on the music, instead, they "lose" me pretty much soon. "Kind Of Blue" though is a good album even if it doesn't get away from the norm and is in fact at times boring ("All Blues"), but I like it. Definitely better than, say, "Bitches Brew" (which had a very cool cover though if I can recall it well) and very beautiful at times ("Freddie Freeloader", first "half" of "So What").
25-21
Although he had a bucketload of classic soul singles, all of them very beloved songs and quite a few of them my favorites too, admittedly in terms of albums his career was uneven. Of course that doesn't matter because "What's Going On" is maybe the greatest confession of a single artist in one album, a chance to get to know his inner world and passions better and altogether the most important disc soul music ever created. Above everything else, the political, social and ecological statements expressed through every song (simplicity is the key word and the power of the record too, not "naive") it's the beauty of the music itself that's so breathtaking in the point of heartbreak. Gaye was without a doubt one of the greatest voices ever lived on planet Earth, and with the company of such carefully composed and beautiful melodies gives his masterpiece which I'm happy to see that high since the cynicism of nowadays doesn't leave much for appreciation. "Right On" and "Wholy Holy" are my favorites.
"Remain In Light" is one of the cases where I don't dig a genre a band represents, yet I find the album surprisingly enjoyable and with a playful tendency towards experimentation. It's just that I don't find it that good and that it lacks a certain weight in terms of importance: it never felt as groundbreaking to me as for others and it's too homogenised, making it difficult for some tracks to be separated from others as standouts. That said, it's a very interesting experience, especially when hearing to it for the first time and it's probably their finest achievement.
The biggest surprise of them all is here. An album heard by only a few people by a band considered by the most an one-hit-60's-wonder for "She's Not There". To me it's what Public Enemy had wisely said: Don't believe the hype. Way too dated, lacking a necessary sophistication in lyrics for standing the test of time and only two truly worthy tracks on the whole LP ("Maybe After He's Gone", "Time Of The Season" which I swear I had heard some time ago as a sampler in an awful contemporary song I can't remember its name right now).
I'm not the man with a taste for Neil Young either. In terms of songwriting and vocals the men for folk to me were always and will forever be Bruce and Bob. "Harvest" and "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" are very good, but nothing else excites me that much, including this. Especially the way he sings in some parts as in the s/t track is unbearable. Anyway it has its moments and a gift for creating a special atmosphere.
In contrast, I always liked The Smiths and "The Queen Is Dead" is the point where they have mastered their abilities and pretty much conquer a part of their own in the history of british music. Their sinister, dark but also strangely affectionate sound had always a powerful effect on me and in here they are more confident than ever in terms of handling it. Also having a singer like Morissey couldn't be less of a tremendous benefit for any band that could have him. They dare to play blues too ("I Know It's Over") but they are better when they are improving their characteristic way of making music not leaving the fun aside ("Bigmouth Strikes Again") but also not forgetting they have some serious business to do in here, so they better compose something totally masterful and incredibly pitch-perfect ("Cemetary Gates", the legendary "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"). A fantastic British album.