- Duke Ellington (1956) 82/100. I figured since I am new to jazz, I'd be eclectic and listen to the full 1999 release of all 40 tracks of Duke Ellington at Newport (including the outtakes) instead of the five that were released in 1956. In track two Duke talks about using a "double-bass drum" and I instantly thought, "wow, Lars Ulrich played with Duke Ellington?" As I have mentioned in a few earlier posts, my experience with jazz resides in some jams by Phish and the Dead so I would not exactly state that I have a healthy palate for it. As far as jazz goes, this was good. I preferred Miles Davis' Birth of Cool (see review here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/31-birth-of-cool-miles-davis.html). I really enjoyed Jeep's Blues, Tulip or Turnip, and Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue. I chuckled that there was riot prevention at the end of the concert. My gen-X mind couldn't wrap itself around how this type of music would inspire riotous behavior. Different times I suppose (somewhere an old man is going, "damn beatniks"). Since I really have only just gotten my feet wet with jazz while doing this 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die thing, I am by no means able to give this the proper critique a jazz aficionado would. So to jazz aficionados, all I can say is that I liked it even though, as Professor Frink would say, "no you can't play with it, you won't enjoy it on as many levels as I do... Mm-hai bw-ha whoa-hoa. The colors children. Mwa-ha-lee." Shameless plug, check out my list of the best Professor Frink quotes on my other blog here: http://www.geekyclown.com/2010/11/10-best-professor-frink-quotes.html Listened: 2/24/2011Favorite Tracks: Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue, Jeep's Blues, Tulip or Turnip
- Black Sabbath (1972) 91/100. Album two of three from the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die folks featuring Black Sabbath. This is the Sabbath coked to the gills album. Overall, it was a good album. I didn't find it as good as Paranoid (see the review here - 
- Ride (1990) 90/100. TIL, shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative music derived from the fact that members of the band stand detached and still during live performance hence they are standing around gazing at their shoes. And, apparently Ride is one of the bigger bands to come out of this subgenre of music. Soundwise, I would consider it a cross between alternative and pop before the world became enamored with the Seattle grunge sound. Now that I knew what shoegazing was, I had never heard of Ride (kind of obvious seeing as I had never heard of shoegazing). I really enjoyed this album. It was very calming but yet had an alternative hook to it. Paralysed, Beneath, Vapour Trail, and Today were some of my favorites but the whole album was good throughout. This joined the list of albums that went from listening on Grooveshark to purchase list. Listened: 2/22/2011
- Frank Sinatra (1956) 88/100. Another crack at Frank Sinatra (1955's In The Wee Small Hours here - 
- Meatloaf (1977) 80/100. "This is Bob. Bob has bitch tits." It was the first thing that popped in my head when I saw Meat Loaf on the list. I really didn't have much experience with Meat Loaf. I knew Paradise by the Dashboard Light and I'd do Anything for Love but that was about as far as it went. I didn't mind Bat out of Hell. It wasn't something that I would see myself jamming out to on a daily basis but it deserves the occasional listen. I thought the melodies, etc. were very good and enjoyed some of the risks that they took trying to throw Springsteen, The Who, and theater together on the same album. While it seemed at times cheesy and I felt contrite fighting the urge to clap along to You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth it is overall a good listen. My favorite was the title track with Paradise by the Dashboard Light and You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth were highlights. I could have done without Heaven can Wait. Listened: 2/18/2011
- Alice in Chains (1992) 94/100. I bought Dirt in 1993 after Alice in Chains released Rooster and I really got into it. But, I haven't heard it since around my sophomore year of college (when it and about 50 other CDs of mine were stolen while attending a kegger) and it was a happy reunion of sorts. For some reason, this album doesn't seem to get the early 90's grunge credit that Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten but it is equally as good. The whole album is dark. Of course, it is hard not to be a dark album when it centers on drugs, war, depression, and death. My personal favorites are Sickman, Would?, and Down In A Hole but there are no bad tracks on Dirt. A must listen for anyone into good rock music. Listened: 2/18/2011
- Eminem (2000) 90/100. The first thing that irked me about this album was Eminem's reference, one of many, to the Columbine massacre and that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold both had machine gunes (which they didn't) in Remember Me? I don't know why that bothered me and I really don't know why I would think a hip-hop album would be historically accurate. In my review of the The Slim Shady LP (see here - 
- U2 (2000) 92/100. I am a U2 fan but have never listened to All That You Can't Leave Behind. I think it was because I didn't really like Pop and thought that this may follow suit. This left Pop in the dust. This and American Idiot by Green Day (reviewed here - 
- TV on the Radio (2004) 88/100. Brand new to TV on the Radio. I am so new to them I didn't even know what type of music they played and didn't bother to look it up, I just threw them on. Those that are familiar with them probably are laughing to themselves at the fact that I was putting this on cold. Initially, I thought I was in for a repeat of Modern Dance by Pere Ubu (reviewed here - 
- Simply Red (1985) 65/100. The first notes of this just screamed 80s and it left no question that this was an 80s album, they even mention Reaganomics during Money's Too Tight (To Mention). Outside of Holding Back the Years, I had not heard any of this so I tried to keep an open mind even though I do have an admitted hatred for 80s pop. That being said, Come to my Aid wasn't a favorite but Sad Old Red had more of a soul sound to it and started moving things in a better direction. Heaven is a pretty good mellow track. I have always liked Holding Back the Years so that was pleasant to hear. Most of the tracks are a concoction of soul and pop. I kept being reminded of music I would hear in the doctor's office. I learned a few things. One, the band is from Britain. For some reason I always figured that they were Irish. Maybe it is the name of the band or the lead singer - who knows. The other thing I learned is they have a lot of damn albums and Picture Book was the first. I guess I figured since Holding Back the Years and If You Don't Know Me By Now were the only tracks I had really ever heard from them, they just faded away into obscurity. Overall, too 80s pop sounding for yours truly. A good album to pick up if you run a doctor's office and need mood music. Listened: 2/8/2011.
- Jimmy Smith (1960) 88/100. First time listen for me. I was familiar with the title track for no other reason than Phish has played it a few times. Also, it has been featured, in part, in movies and TV. Anyway, onto the album. Since Jimmy Smith is an organist - that is the highlighted instrument (no need to thank Capt. Obvious) but does mix in some nice sax (Stanley Turrentine is a fabulous sax player on this album) and drums (especially in Minor Chant). It's great to hear this and then think back to the countless jamband bootlegs I have listened to and hear how much influence Smith has had on that genre of music. Overall, this is jazz at its finest with a little bit of funk thrown in for good measure. Notable tracks include the title track, Minor Chant, and Messy Bessie. A good introduction to jazz and a must hear for anyone into jambands. I enjoy jazz but don't know if this would make the rotation on the stereo often in comparison with others on here. Listened: 2/7/2011.
- Beck (1996) 92/100. This is the second Beck album that I covered (Sea Change being the first - 
- Pere Ubu (1977) 75/100. I had never heard of Pere Ubu. I put it on GrooveShark with a sense of blissful ignorance, and felt a strong WTF feeling wash over me. I was confused by it. It was part New Wave (ugh), part rock & roll/blues, part early Syd Barrett experimentation mixed together to create something that resembled some sort of strange experimental dance performed at some hipster coffee house somewhere instead of a rock & roll album. It was one of those albums where I found myself asking, "is that bagpipes? Synthesizer? What the hell is making that noise?" Being a big fan of Phish, Dead, and the like, I can appreciate experimental music so for me this album was interesting. But, I couldn't see putting this on at a party and having people go, "this is awesome!" In fact, my guess is, it would probably make a good portion of those in attendance think that I was on acid. The Modern Dance was good. Life Stinks had a little experimentation mixed with punk that was pretty good. Sentimental Journey is the quintessential WTF song of the album. It was ok, nothing I would really go out of my way to listen to again. Listened: 2/4/2011
- Moby Grape (1967) 92/100. Brand new to Moby Grape. I learned (from my good friend Wikipedia) that Skip Spence of Jefferson Airplane fame played guitar for them (and quite well for a drummer IMHO). After reading up on them, I was a bit ashamed to not have heard of them. Given, they were before my time but as one who prides himself on being a fan of 1960's American hippiedom and counterculture, not hearing of Moby Grape is a problem. That has now been rectified. I do hear some Jefferson Airplane in this (I suppose it has as much to do with the time than anything). I could make an easy argument that this is a better album than, the more popular, Surrealistic Pillow (reviewed here - 
- Simon and Garfunkel (1968) 90/100. I love a good instrumental and having Bookends begin with one is a sign in the right direction. This is another of those albums whose meanings are the definition of ambiguous. It has been used for soundtracks (The Graduate, of course, being the most popular) and been covered by multiple bands (including a really bad rendition of Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles). Speaking of Hazy Shade of Winter, that and America are probably my favorite tracks from it. Some of the less popular tracks like Fakin' It and At the Zoo deserve mention. I wasn't a big fan of Voices of Old People and also found myself annoyed by Mrs. Robinson but that is probably because it is so overplayed. Overall, a great album. Listened: 2/4/2011