Some Words from the Bird

 There were two thoughts that came to mind after listening to this album. First, I was surprised to hear two James Brown cover songs, and second, I could not help but notice the aggressive and up front style of the bass and drums. With no offense meant to Mr. Daltrey and Mr. Townshend, the rhythm section is almost manic throughout most of the album, which is a new twist compared to what we have heard up to this point.  The album starts off with some jangling guitar chords, and then it heads off into "Out in The Street" which is a rocking number that displays Daltrey's gritty voice. At one point Townshend  experiments with a crunchy guitar sound. The second track is the first James Brown cover, "I Don't Mind",  and it is recognizable immediately. They do a good job. As I said, I was surprised to hear this downtempo R&B tune. The pounding drums are the biggest difference, giving the tune a more in your face feel than James Brown did that night at the Ap...

 I was looking forward to hearing the Byrds. I love the title track on this album, which affirms my suspicions that I do indeed enjoy Bob Dylan's songs, but I prefer other artists to perform them. I think I have already made that point ad nauseum, so I won't elaborate. As for the Byrds, apparently the guys in the band stood fast when the record company wanted to use session players for much of the album. Good for them. Anyhow, this album is touted as the first to blend American folk music with the new sounds of rock coming across the pond from England.  It starts out with "Mr. Tambourine Man", one of four Dylan tracks on the record. I love it. The session players were present on this track, and I have to say they did it well. I will go out on a limb and assume you have heard this song countless times, and move along. "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" was covered by Tom Petty, and I figure Tom was a big Byrds fan, because this is the sound he borrowed an...

 The last offering in our trio of Rolling Stones albums is Now! Overall, the album is very similar to "Out of Our Heads"; it is comprised of R&B covers and some original tunes written by Jagger and Richards. It has many of the same tracks as the second album released by the band in the UK, which makes it just as confusing as any of these other albums popular on both sides of the ocean in those days. I assume it would be far easier to release one album and sell it as is, and if you need other songs, make another album. But I am not a 1960's record exec, so what the hell do I know?  I know that I like this album, for the same reasons that I like the two previous Rolling Stones offerings. They feature strong songwriting for the original tunes, and the covers are very well done. The album starts off with "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love". The song is originally by Solomon Burke, but the version I am most familiar with is from the Blues Brothers. The next trac...

 This album is the first on the list that I actually already own on vinyl. I have been waiting for this one, longing to actually pull the LP out of the cover and listen to the songs in Mono, as opposed to some digitally remastered copy. It seems to be the appropriate way to enjoy these albums. After some digging around in the closet, I finally located the album, blew the dust off of the turntable, and let it rip. I've listened to this record several times, and am far more familiar with it than many I have posted on previously. The one drawback is the fact that my turntable is nowhere near my computer. Hence the delay in posting for those of you I've kept waiting, grinding your teeth in anticipation of more gritty analysis of fifty-plus year old albums. For this I apologize. The solution is to post using my iPhone, instead of using the iPhone to play the music. So far, I have found the blogger app to be fairly user friendly. I'll have to read this again on the computer sever...